No More Games
by VagueJester
Summary: After a brutal attack the summer before his third year, Harry discovers much about his family and his place in the world. The only question is whether he will get to choose that place or not.
1. Chapter 1

Harry groaned as he forced his eyes open and cast his gaze around the strange bedroom. The last thing he remembered was his Aunt Marge bad-mouthing his parents and him losing control of his emotions, causing him to unintentionally release his magic and cause her to swell up like a balloon. He groaned as he thought about how it had only taken two weeks back at the Dursleys' before there was an incident, and he couldn't help but feel slightly bitter towards Dumbledore for not taking him seriously when he had begged to be allowed to stay somewhere – anywhere – else. After that, things started to become more of a blur as he lost himself in the pain of Uncle Vernon's beatings before finally crawling out the door when his uncle had exhausted himself and gone to bed.

He remembered fighting with the pain tearing through his body as he limped his way down Privet Drive towards the small park that had become a sort of sanctuary for him over the years. Thinking hard, Harry tried to remember what happened next, but all he could remember was a pair of glowing yellow eyes in the darkness before something massive knocked him to the ground, smacking his head against the pavement and dislodging his glasses as the full moon provided only just enough light to see whatever it was that attacked him lean down over his neck, hot, damp breath against his jugular. After that, all Harry could remember was pain as the creature sank its fangs into his throat. His veins seemed to fill with fire and he had struggled to scream, but he Vernon had paid extra attention ensuring he could utter no more than the occasional whimper. His head had swam and as darkness encroached in the corners of Harry's vision, threatening to swallow him whole, he vaguely remembered hearing the screech of a bird followed by a clap of thunder.

Groaning as he sat up, Harry looked around the unfamiliar room, taking in the rich hardwood flooring, and thick stone walls that created a sense of safety, while the warm glow of a nearby fire added a certain feel to them that reminded Harry of what he felt whenever he thought about returning to Hogwarts, only… stronger. More right.

A sudden pop made Harry yelp as a familiar house elf appeared standing before him.

"The Great Harry Potter is finally awake!" Dobby cried happily. "Dobby was so frightened! Tipsy tells Dobby that she would make sure Harry Potter Sir survived, she reminded Dobby that the Ancient One would protect Master Harry Potter, but that didn't stop Dobby from worrying!"

"Dobby?" Harry asked groggily. "What happened? Where are we?"

"Dobby came when he sensed Master Harry Potter was in danger! Dobby apparated to the Master, only to find a man-wolf had attacked Master. When Dobby arrived, the Ancient One had already destroyed the man-wolf, and demanded Dobby help him stabilize Master before taking Master back to his home."

"Dobby, I don't know where you thought I lived, but this isn't it," Harry said slowly. To call Dobby unpredictable would be a major understatement, and Harry didn't want to have to stop him from hurting himself like he would when he was enslaved to the Malfoys. "Don't you remember? You came to me last year. That's where I live when I'm not at Hogwarts." Harry refused to make any allusion to the prison he had been sentenced to being his home.

Dobby violently shook his head before he replied excitedly. "No, Dobby chose to bond with The Great Harry Potter Sir as his master, as such, Dobby became privy to the location of Master Harry Potter's home, and was given permission to pass through the wards surrounding Potter Manor."

"Potter Manor?" Harry asked incredulously.

"This is the ancestral home to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter," another squeaky voice replied, though, this one sounded older and almost motherly in its tone, drawing Harry's attention to the door where a second house elf had appeared, carrying a tray laden with various foods and drinks.

This elf looked incredibly different from Dobby as she was dressed in an elegant servant's uniform. On top of that, her appearance was vastly different from the withered little creature standing on Harry's bed. She was a fair bit taller than Dobby, standing at almost four feet, and she had features that looked more reminiscent to the elves that parents told their children worked in a factory in the North Pole to produce toys to be delivered every Christmas. Her fair skin was contrasted by her dark hair, though Harry could see the occasional streak of grey in the tightly wound bun that rested atop her head. Her long ears were not nearly as big as Dobby's, and the soft wrinkles and laugh-lines on her face portrayed a life led far better than that either of the bed's occupants. Her warm brown eyes twinkled as she placed the tray across Harry's lap before bowing at the waist with her right fist raised up to rest against her chest. "I cannot properly express how happy I am to see you again, Young Master. I, like young Dobby here, was quite distraught when the Ancient One delivered you to us in such a terrible condition."

"I'm sorry," Harry said haltingly, "have we met before?"

The older elf nodded her head and smiled sadly. "Of course you would hardly remember, as you barely spent half a year here before Master James and Mistress Lily were forced to take you into hiding. My name is Tipsy, servant to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter."

"So, this is… where I was supposed to live with my parents?" Harry asked hesitantly.

Tipsy nodded her eyes misting slightly as she was lost in the past. "It nearly killed me when I learned of their deaths. I tried to find you, but was countered at every turn - both magically and legally. It was only the knowledge that we would some day meet, and I could continue to serve you and your family that kept me from withering away these long years." She paused as her emotions seemed to overwhelm her. "Tipsy can't even begin to tell the young Master how happy she was when young Dobby brought him here," she hiccoughed, her formal venaccular degrading somewhat in the wake of her emotions.

"So, I can… live here?" Harry asked, unable to disguise the raw _hope_ in his voice.

"But of course, Master," Tipsy replied, regaining her composure and smiling brightly. "You are the Heir to the House of Potter. Your admittance into these grounds is proof enough of that. I highly doubt even the Ancient One could have been able to successfully penetrate the sheer amount of wards surrounding the estate without your presence to allow him."

"You both keep mentioning this Ancient One, who are you talking about?" Harry asked.

As if to answer his question, there was a flash of lightning near the window to Harry's right. When the blinding light faded and Harry could see again, he was shocked by the majestic creature that had appeared before him and flew over to perch itself on the foot of his bed.

Its head was similar to that of an eagle, with four shining wings emerging from its powerful torso and the base of seven long tails of beautiful plumage. Its feathers shimmered with cloud-like patterns, occasionally changing colours as it shifted and folded its wings, but usually settling on an inky black, accentuated with electrifying blue.

 _Well met, young man,_ a deep voice rang through his head, and Harry's eyes widened, _my name is Zephyr._

Harry was reminded of his first meeting with Fawkes, the phoenix, and the sensation of pure _magic_ that accompanied the bird. He smiled at the strange sense of familiarity that the voice brought with it, despite never having heard it before in his life, and soon found himself reaching out towards the bird that was nearly as tall as Tipsy was. Zephyr inclined his head and leaned down to stroke his head against the palm of Harry's hand, and Harry gasped as a surge of information flowed through his mind before the newly identified thunderbird stretched his wings and flew up to Harry's shoulder, shrinking as he flew until he was roughly the size of Fawkes, while the lower pair of wings seemed to vanish to accommodate his new size.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Zephyr," Harry replied, smiling widely. "I guess you're this Ancient One they keep referring to?"

 _Indeed,_ Zephyr said, his dark eyes twinkling. _Imagine my surprise when after centuries of life, I feel the pull of one such as yourself an ocean away on another continent. Luck was certainly on our side when I arrived in the nick of time to save you from that werewolf._

Harry's eyes widened as he remembered how he had wound up in this situation in the first place. "Wait… That-that thing that attacked me was a werewolf? Does-does that mean that I'm…?"

The unspoken question filled the air with a tense weight until Tipsy took it upon herself to reassure her fearful master. "That remains to be seen, Master," she said. "When I was healing you, I detected a litany of abnormalities that I would urge you to have checked out."

"How do I do that?" Harry asked.

"If you are feeling up to it, I can bring us to Gringotts this afternoon," Tipsy offered.

"Why Gringotts? Isn't that the bank?"

"Gringotts serves as more than just a bank," Tipsy informed him. "The goblin healers there are among the best in the world. On top of that, as you have finally returned to your ancestral home, I feel it would be prudent for you to formally accept your position within the House of Potter."

"What would that position entail?" Harry asked.

"It would mean accepting the responsibilities and duties that come with being the Head of a Most Ancient and Noble House," Tipsy replied. "If you would allow it, perhaps it would be best if I accompany you, Master."

"Thank you, Tipsy," Harry replied. "I know next to nothing about the Wizarding World, and if has anything to do with my family, then I would love nothing more than to learn about it."

"Thank you, Sir, it means a lot that you would trust me like this," Tipsy said sincerely. "Dobby took the liberty to retrieve all of your personal effects from the muggle house, and after seeing the condition of your clothes, I took it upon myself to resize several of your father's and grandfather's robes. We can leave as soon as you have eaten and gotten ready."

*(OoO)*

By the time they left, it was nearing eleven in the morning. Harry learned that he had been unconscious for about a week before he had woken up, and wasn't sure whether to be surprised or relieved that there had still yet to be any sort of report of him having gone missing. In order to avoid drawing attention, Tipsy had conjured a glamour over Harry to disguise him while in Diagon Alley. This was somewhat counteracted by the expensive robes he was wearing and the fact that Zephyr insisted on accompanying Harry from his perch on his shoulder. but after being scolded by both of them for the timid, hunched over posture he bore in an attempt to shrink away from the attention, he had straightened his shoulders, held his head tall, and threw every ounce of his skills in acting and lying into portraying the regal Heir he supposedly was.

In fact, by the time he and Tipsy reached the great doors to Gringotts, Harry found himself having to put less and less effort into keeping up the act. Unlike the fame that came from his miraculous defeat of Voldemort as a child, Harry couldn't help but actually be _proud_ of being a part of the House of Potter. It was a link to his parents that he would hold dearly, and there was no way he would shame them by acting like he was not happy with the name they had given him.

Following Tipsy through the doors, Harry along with everyone else in the lobby of the bank whirled around in surprise when two loud bangs caused him to whirl around, where he was faced with the two trolls who normally guarded the doors kneeling with their heads down in his direction before standing and returning to their original posts. Frowning in confusion, Harry decided to set it aside for now and turned to resume heading towards his destination when the most peculiar smell caught his attention.

It smelled like vanilla, and parchment, and something else that Harry couldn't identify as it seemed… hidden. Like it was being masked by the collective scents of those around him _._ He cast his eyes around the multitude of people in the lobby, trying to find the source of the delicious odor, his eyes resting on a small family of four as he felt something within him tug, as if telling him to go over to them.

One of the girls, the elder of the two, turned her head and met his gaze. She was around his age, with long, blonde hair, and piercing, ice-blue eyes. She was rather thin compared to other girls, and looked to be slightly shorter than him, her expensive-looking cloak covering the rest of her body. He frowned when she scowled at him before turning away, and decided to let the matter drop as he followed Tipsy up to a desk where a familiar goblin was pouring over some paperwork.

"Hello Griphook," Harry said, causing the goblin to look up in shock and suspicion. "It's me, Harry Potter, you helped me on my first year?"

"I'm more than aware of who you are, Mister Potter," Griphook replied. "Even elf magic is not capable of hiding you within Gringotts. What surprises me is that you addressed me by my name, let alone remembered it."

"Why wouldn't I remember your name?" Harry asked. "You helped me my first year. I always remember people who help me."

The seemingly innocent tone with which he said it convinced Griphook of his sincerity. "A noble thing to do, Mister Potter. I was simply surprised because most wizards do not treat us with any more respect than they would an animal. It's rare to be addressed as an equal by one such as yourself."

Several emotions passed over Harry's face, none of them positive before he settled on thoughtful and took his time to reply. "That's stupid," he said bluntly. "You manage all of our money, that means you're all extremely smart, and Tipsy told me that goblins have some of the best healers in the world, which means you're all powerful and talented. On top of that, Tipsy told me on the way here that you all have your own nation and cultures, which means you know how to create your own society and government."

"Those are quite the astute deductions, Mister Potter," Griphook said, taking note of the many people, both goblin and wizard alike who were discretely trying to listen in on their conversation.

Harry shrugged. "It doesn't matter to me either way."

Griphook raised an eyebrow, and could even see a handful of his superiors leaning closer to hear what he had to say. "Whatever do you mean?"

"You should be treated with respect because everyone deserves to be treated decently. Everything I just listed off is just why you should be the ones who don't bother to learn our names." The tension in the room ratcheted up, though Harry seemed completely oblivious to the nearly treasonous words he was spouting. Griphook watched, stunned, as Harry shrugged once more before continuing, as if they had been exchanging little more than pleasantries. "Anyway, Tipsy offered to help me handle some family business, and as you were the only familiar face here, I decided to see whether I could get your help as well."

Harry waited for Griphook to get down from behind his massive desk and lead them down towards one of the nearby private offices scratching Zephyr beneath the chin as he did so.

"What can I help you with, Mister Potter?" Griphook asked as he took a seat at a desk on the other side of the room while Harry rushed to pull a chair out for his matronly house elf, prompting another raised eyebrow, before taking a seat himself.

"Well," Harry began, hesitating until Zephyr leaned down and nuzzled him supportively. "About a week ago, I was attacked by a werewolf."

"Is that so? I must say, you have recovered remarkably quickly if that is the case."

"Yes, well, that's probably all thanks to Tipsy, Dobby, and Zephyr here. They rescued me before it could kill me." Harry looked a little lost for a moment, so Tipsy took it upon herself to help out.

"When I was healing the young Master's wounds, I found that there was something strange going on with his blood and his magical core," Tipsy informed him. "I did not see the typical signs of lycanthropy, but rather something completely different. I suggested that Master Harry seek out a goblin healer to diagnose him and see if there is anything that requires immediate attention. Additionally, Master Harry thought it prudent to inform himself concerning his family, and Gringotts would be the obvious place to start on that."

Griphook nodded and shuffled through several papers that he had conjured while they spoke and frowned. "Mister Potter, it says here that you have been receiving regular updates and statements in regards to your various holdings."

"Please, Griphook, call me Harry, and that must be a mistake. I didn't even know what Gringotts was, let alone that I _had_ a vault before you showed it to me two years ago."

"Harry, that was simply your trust vault," Griphook replied. "Money is placed in there every month to cover your various expenses. That is not the main Potter Vault. As for what you have told me, that is very concerning, as we have been receiving directions from your magical guardian for years regarding the handling of your finances."

"My magical guardian?" Harry asked. "Who's that?"

"Unlike your legal guardians, your magical guardian is the one that magic and spells themselves recognise as your advocate and the one responsible for you. Ever since the events nearly twelve years ago, Albus Dumbledore has held that position. He should have been the one that you learned all about your family from."

"Well I didn't!" Harry exclaimed. "And you're telling me he's been touching my parents' money as well?"

"I'm afraid that he was within his rights as your guardian to handle your finances," Griphook said sadly. He could see that Harry cared very little for the actual money lost, but more that someone he had previously trusted had robbed him of something his parents had left him, regardless of worth. "There may be a solution, though."

"What's that?" Harry asked as he struggled to compose himself.

"Seeing as we will need to provide one for the healers anyway, you could consider testing to see if your family magic will accept you as its Lord, thus emancipating you and granting you the full title and responsibilities of Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter, as well as any other Houses whose blood you carry that are in need of a head."

"Let's do it," Harry replied instantly and watched as Griphook withdrew a fresh parchment and a long silver dagger. He instructed Harry to slice open his palm and drop his blood on the parchment. Harry didn't even flinch as the goblin steel broke his skin, and watched impassively as the blood dripped steadily on the page before his hand healed itself, good as new.

Griphook's eyebrows rose to his hairline as he read over the parchment before handing it over to Harry, who couldn't blame him when he read the results for himself.

 _Harry James Potter_

 _Son of James Charlus Potter and Lily Potter (nee Evans)_

 _Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter_

 _Heir apparent to the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Black (Contestable), Slytherin (By Combat), Gryffindor, Peverrel, and Flamel_

 _Notable latent abilities: Animagus (Nemean Lion), Parseltongue, Beastmaster, Speaker_

 _Note: Blood contains significant amounts of basilisk venom, phoenix tears, and Lycanthropy virus. Magical Core shows signs of continued tampering and restriction, while presence of recently expunged soul fragment visible._

"So what does this all mean?" Harry said as he handed the parchment back.

 _It means that I made an excellent choice in humans,_ Zephyr replied.

 **A/N: So I know this is going to enrage quite a few of you, as you were probably hoping for a proper update, but as I read through this in an effort to figure out what I wanted to do next, I found myself growing more and more unhappy with how this turned out. For one thing, I felt like Harry was way too OP without having gone into depth about him earning those skills. The plan was, and still is, for him to be a prodigy on the same levels as Dumbledore and Riddle when it comes to Magic, but I didn't feel like that was properly fleshed out, and he just sort of automatically became better than everyone else. The other big issue was Daphne. It felt like she was mostly there to be Harry's love interest, when the plan was for her to be the more cool-headed, politically savvy one. Instead, Harry ended up being the smoothest of operators and she sort of fell by the wayside.**

 **Once again, I apologize for getting your hopes up, but hopefully this will improve NMG to the point where I can be really proud of it and continue working on furthering the story.**


	2. Chapter 2

Harry spent the remainder of his summer between Potter Manor with Dobby, Tipsy, and Zephyr and Gringotts, where Griphook was helping him in receiving the best treatment possible to deal with the lingering trauma - both physical and mental - from his time with the Dursleys. Over the course of the summer, Dobby also started to show signs of recovering mentally from the prolonged torture that was serving the Malfoys, and his appearance had even started to very slowly change towards something similar to how Tipsy looked.

The first thing Harry did after leaving Gringotts had been to purchase as many books on as many subjects as he could. After the revelation of Dumbledore's deceit and theft of his inheritance, Harry was now determined that he would put as much effort into studying and training himself to be a wizard powerful enough to make others think twice about manipulating him. The goblins had assured him that the restraints on his magic were starting to corrode and his magic would see an exponential increase in power as it freed more and more of itself.

Unfortunately, the news of a madman having escaped the most heavily guarded prison in Magical Britain put a hamper on Harry's plans for independence as he was reminded of the fact that while Dumbledore may have been manipulating him for some unknown reason, he was still one of the few people who could stand against Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

He and Griphook spoke often during his time at Gringotts, and by the time Harry's thirteenth birthday rolled around, Griphook had also taken to visiting Potter Manor to assist wherever he could with Harry's studies and training. He had found that the more he studied and trained, the more he enjoyed it. It was a uniquely invigorating feeling to take what he learned about how magic and the world around him worked and use it in new and inventive ways to solve problems. More than once he had wondered if that was how Hermione felt.

Eventually, August gave way to September, and as he was stepping onto the train, Harry was confident that he would be able to do much better in school than ever before. Tipsy had shared more than one story about how well his parents did themselves, and he was more motivated than ever to do well and make them proud.

With Dobby's help, Harry arrived at the platform with plenty of time to spare, strolling casually onto the train with Zephyr atop his shoulder as usual. Dobby had already taken all of Harry's things to the castle, and was going to be spending the year working in the kitchens with the other elves so as to be close to Harry and to aid with his recovery.

Applying a quick Notice-Me-Not to himself as he took a seat in a compartment near the middle of the train, Harry retrieved his book on Runes and began reading as he patiently waited for his friends, eager to surprise them with how much he had changed since they last saw him. That plan was tossed out the window when that familiar scent he had picked up on his first trip to Gringotts that summer tickled his nose and he sat up. The door to his compartment opened and three students entered that after a moment caused Harry's eyes to widen in recognition.

Joining him in his compartment were Blaise Zabini, Tracey Davis, and last but certainly not least, the source of the infuriatingly tantalizing scent, Daphne Greengrass. Her blonde hair hid her face as she didn't even look up from the book she was reading while she took a seat next to Harry, who was curled up with his head down, pretending to be asleep.

"Come on, Daph, just for once get your head out of a book," Tracey said.

"Tracey's right," Blaise said. "You're starting to act like Granger."

"Please," Daphne scoffed. "I don't go lording my knowledge around like I'm better than everyone."

"That's because we're the only ones you'll talk to and our grades are a almost as high as yours," Tracey countered.

Harry couldn't help himself and chuckled at the pout on Daphne's face, drawing attention to himself and breaking the charm. Daphne yelped and jumped slightly as they were all suddenly made aware of his presence before quickly drawing her wand.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed and Harry watched as she hid her emotions behind a frozen mask.

"I was here first."

"Shouldn't you be with Granger and Weasley and all your other Gryffindor pals?" Blaise asked accusingly.

"Once again," Harry repeated. "I was here first. You're welcome to join me though."

Tracey's eyes narrowed. "Aren't you afraid the big bad Slytherins will curse you or something?"

Harry shrugged. "Not really. Malfoy and his gang are the only ones who have ever been outright hostile to me."

"That doesn't mean the rest of us are your biggest fans," Daphne remarked coolly.

"That's fine by me," Harry countered. "I'd rather avoid anyone who calls themselves my fans anyway."

"You must really be as brave as those rumors say," Blaise commented, his dark eyes attempting to pierce Harry's calm demeanor.

"They also said that I'm the Heir of Slytherin, among other things," Harry replied. "Why shouldn't I get to know some members of the House my ancestor founded? Besides, Zephyr seems to have taken a liking to Little Miss Sunshine over there." He nodded his head to where Zephyr had fluttered from his perch on Harry's shoulder to land on Daphne's. Daphne stifled a gasp as the birds rubbed its feathers against her cheek and she felt a soft jolt.

"That's fairly presumptuous of you to think we'd want to be friends with a Gryffindor," Blaise said. "Let alone you."

"That's fair," Harry conceded. "How about an olive branch? Show that I mean no harm."

"What were you thinking?" Daphne asked, drawing the attention of her two friends.

"I think I might be able to help you with your little rune project," Harry offered.

"Is that so?" Daphne asked, her eyebrow raising as she glared at him with unrestrained contempt.

"Sure," Harry replied, unaffected. "It's a pretty easy fix."

"Daphne, can we talk to you?" Tracey asked as she and Blaise dragged Daphne out of the compartment. "What are you doing? You know how much trouble you could be in if you're seen associating with a Gryffindor? Much less Potter?"

"He's their golden boy," Blaise added. "How do you think everyone's going to react when they see us interacting with him?"

"That's precisely why I think we should take him up on it," Daphne said, holding up her hand as her two best friends opened their mouths to berate her and/or inquire about her sanity. "Hear me out. Last year proved that the entire school could turn on him at the drop of a hat. That being said, he'd still make quite the ally if we can convince him to be on our side. I overheard Cyrus speaking to one of his informants at Gringotts and apparently Potter's next in line to inherit the titles of multiple houses. It wouldn't take much for us to have him wrapped around our fingers either. All we'd have to do is stand up to Malfoy a few times, and he'll be convinced we're on his side."

"I dunno," Tracey said quietly. "It sounds risky."

"Yeah, well unless either of you have a better plan to keep Malfoy off our backs and find us some allies before he becomes an actual threat, I'm going back in there to entertain his silly thought that he can help me with my runes."

Daphne then opened the door and found Harry sitting quietly near the window, one hand absentmindedly stroking his bird's head while the other wrote on a piece of parchment.

"Alright Potter, you say you can help me with my rune project?"

Harry looked up and handed Daphne the parchment he had been writing on. Her eyes widened when she looked at it and found an improved version of her array scribbled down hastily.

"You forgot to add a key to your proximity alarm," Harry explained. "With that, you can key in yourself and any others you choose so that it doesn't go off when near you."

"Where did you learn Ancient Runes, Potter?" She demanded as Tracey and Blaise joined her in the compartment.

Harry shrugged and gave her a lopsided grin. "I've been doing a ton of studying this summer."

"Teach me," Daphne demanded.

"I'm sorry?" Harry asked. She was suddenly sitting right next to him, her face mere inches from him while the smell of vanilla and parchment made his head swim and his heart beat faster.

"Teach. Me. I've been struggling to wrap my head around Ancient Runes and Arithmancy since I got my books in June. You wanted to befriend a few Slytherins, Potter, while here's your in."

Harry shared a look with Zephyr before shrugging his shoulders and pulling out his own Runes book and opening it between them. The majority of the train ride was then spent with Harry explaining the basics of Runes and Arithmancy to her, only pausing when the trolley came by and Harry bought them all some snacks, idly wondering where Ron and Hermione were, and why they hadn't come looking for him.

"We're not charity cases, Potter," Blaise muttered, even as he unwrapped a chocolate frog. "We can pay for ourselves."

"I know," Harry replied. "But before I came to Hogwarts, I didn't have a knut to my name. Now I have more money than I know what to do with, so it's fun to spend it on other people."

Daphne resisted the urge to roll her eyes at his insufferably generous nature, it wouldn't do to antagonize him just yet. She needed to win his trust first. Suddenly the train came to a halt and she noticed Harry tense as he looked between the window and the door to the compartment.

"What's going on?" Blaise asked.

"We can't be there yet," Tracey commented, standing up. The lights in the train suddenly went out and Daphne noticed how quickly the temperature was dropping. Standing up, Daphne reached for the door when Harry grabbed her arm and stopped her.

"Someone just got on the train," he whispered. She watched as he tensed underneath his robes and drew his wand, holding a finger over his mouth as he positioned himself beside the door. He whispered something to his bird and it seemed to nod in understanding as the cold grew and Daphne started to shake. She watched, petrified as a spectral figure approached the door to their compartment and slowly opened the door.

As the gnarled hand drew open the door and Daphne looked at its cloaked form, every bad memory she had suddenly rushed to the forefront of her mind. She was barely aware of a shout and a bright flash accompanied by the warmth she so desperately missed until a screech and a second flash sent the cloaked creature running. Curling in on herself, Daphne held tight to her knees as her father's face burned itself into her mind. It wasn't until she felt something warm and secure wrap around her that she realised that she wasn't back with him and instead was on the train, sitting across from Tracey and Blaise, who both had looks of concern. The arm around her tightened and she looked up to see Harry Potter looking down at her with concern.

 _Were his eyes always that green?_

"Are you alright?" He asked his bird fluttering down to rub its feathers against her cheek once more.

Daphne nodded hesitantly and cursed herself for the pang of regret she felt as Harry pulled back. She was not about to fall for the whole hero-worship thing. She wasn't a damsel in distress. She was one of the top witches in her year dammit!

Harry smiled in relief and handed her a piece of chocolate. "Here, this should help."

"What was that thing?" Tracey asked.

"That was a dementor," Harry replied. "They're probably here looking for Sirius Black. They feed on happiness and are extremely hard to handle."

"You seem to have done just fine," Blaise noted.

"Not really," Harry replied shaking his head. "They aren't huge fans of fire, so a simple _incendio_ was enough to draw its attention away from you guys. Zephyr was the one who did most of the work."

Daphne restrained a smile as Zephyr raised his head and puffed out his chest. Stroking his head, she turned back to Harry. "What kind of bird is he? I've never seen one like him before."

"I doubt you would have," Harry said. "Zephyr is a thunderbird."

"Why are you telling us all this, Potter?" Blaise asked suspiciously. "Why would you willingly take on a dementor like that?"

"I think it would be obvious that dementors would affect me more than most," Harry replied somberly. "There was nowhere to run to, and if there was, that would mean leaving you three behind, so I just did what I had to."

"There's that Gryffindor stupidity we all know and love," Tracey remarked sarcastically.

"Mixed in with a little bit of Hufflepuff naivety," Daphne added, watching Harry curiously.

Harry chuckled and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well, the Sorting Hat actually couldn't decide where to put me. In fact, were it not for some poor meetings with Malfoy being a prat and Ron badmouthing you guys at the beginning of first year, I would probably be a Slytherin too."

"Wait, what?!" Daphne shouted.

Harry nodded as he pulled out a book and started reading. "Yup. It said I could do great things in Slytherin. Was probably right too."

Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise all exchanged looks as they held a silent conversation while Harry read and stroked Zephyr's feathers. Clearly Potter was on his way to becoming a powerful wizard in his own right. Daphne knew that while the three of them were amongst the top of their classes, it did next to nothing to keep their housemates from ostracizing them.

Blaise was constantly the center of various rumors that had to do with his mother and the many dead husbands she had, while Tracey was ridiculed for her status as a half-blood, and Daphne was left out both because of her friendship with Tracey and because her cold demeanor kept the many bigoted purebloods away from her. If they all had someone like Harry watching out for them, then odds were that while they'd see an increase in trouble from the likes of Malfoy and his posse, the higher years, the real threats within Slytherin House, would back off, especially if they could capitalise on what they had heard was Harry's more protective side.

The only issue would be his friends and fellow Gryffindors. The hate between their houses was old and deep, and they weren't likely to be welcomed to join Weasley and Granger so easily amongst the small circle of friends Harry had. Formulating a plan, Daphne nodded to Tracey and Blaise mouthing the word later to them as she turned her attention to Harry who seemed to keep glancing at her as well as breathing extremely deeply. He had the decency to blush and return to his book when she caught him, but Daphne couldn't help but notice that his pupils seemed almost like they had narrowed for a moment before they turned back to reading. The rest of the train ride continued in silence, and when they finally arrived, Harry bid them all farewell to go and join his friends in another carriage.

*(OoO)*

Over the next few days, Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise carefully worked their way into the position of Harry Potter's friends. They were careful to avoid his fellow Gryffindors, but that didn't prove to be much of an issue as Harry had taken to spending much of his free time in the library. Apparently having switched classes at the last minute and his sudden improvement in classwork had created the start of some sort of rift between Harry and his two friends as Daphne usually found him on his own when she went to the library.

She had noticed that he, like much of the male population of their year, had a hard time not looking at her. Unlike other guys though, he at least tried to restrain himself, and had yet to make any sort of advance on her either, seemingly more interested in actually getting to know her and her friends. They capitalized on his attraction to her as it provided her, Tracey, and Blaise with a sort of opening since Harry seemed to have a hard time saying no to Daphne.

Daphne was now on her way to the library, thinking about the Care for Magical Creatures class they had earlier in the week. Seeing Harry interact with the hippogriff had been something else, and when Malfoy had barged in, angering the prideful creature, Harry had calmed it down with nothing more than a look and a bow. She entered the library, and as if summoned by her thoughts, she almost immediately found Harry sitting on a windowsill reading from a thick, dusty tome while Zephyr perched himself on his shoulder.

"You seem to be spending an awful lot of time here, Potter," she noted quietly. "Trouble in the lion's den?"

Harry looked up and smiled when he saw Daphne approaching. "Ron and Hermione are fighting again. Seems he thinks that her cat's eaten his rat."

"My, how riveting," she drawled. "What could possibly have pulled you away from watching that?"

"I doubt they noticed," Harry replied, smirking. "Though if Ron knew I was in the library again, he might start accusing me of having gone mad."

"You have started spending an inordinate amount of time here compared to past years," Daphne agreed.

"What about you?" Harry asked, deflecting from her statement. "Why aren't you down in the snake pit?"

"One can only bear to listen to Malfoy moan about how Professor Hagrid's hippogriff nearly killed him for so long before the idea of finishing the job starts to become more and more tempting," Daphne explained.

Harry laughed and shook his head, turning his attention back to the window and watching handful of clouds meander by. There was a sudden weight pressing down on his shoulders that made him look decades older to her, and Daphne frowned as she her arm reached out of its own accord and gripped his shoulder.

"They're here because of me," he said quietly as a dark shape blurred by in the distance, making Daphne shiver.

"Who are?"

"The dementors."

"The dementors are here because of the threat of Sirius Black," Daphne countered.

"Who's here because I am."

"Is that why you've been taking your studies so seriously?" She asked. "Because there's a madman on the loose?"

"I've been taking my studies seriously because I've found I actually enjoy them," Harry replied. "I love learning about the different aspects of magic, and putting them into practice. But, if Black does manage to catch me, at least I'll be able to put up a bit of a fight."

"Maybe you should just leave catching the notorious killers to the professionals," Daphne suggested. "You're thirteen, you should be focussed on Quidditch and what Zonko's products you'll be sneaking in during our first Hogsmeade weekend."

Harry smiled, though it seemed like more of a reflex than a genuine expression. "I'd have to find a way to sneak _out_ first. Besides, if I left things to the so-called professionals, Hogwarts would probably be closed by now."

"My, someone thinks highly of himself," Daphne quipped.

Harry shrugged, his cheeks reddening slightly. "Just stating a fact."

Daphne stared at him in silence for several minutes as he returned to his book. She knew he couldn't have been as arrogant as Malfoy liked to make him out to be, but to hear him outright say that the school would have been closed were it not for him demonstrated a surprising level of pride from the usually quiet boy. That being said, he seemed embarrassed more than anything else when she called him out on it, as well as reluctant to share anymore information beyond that.

"Why would you have to find a way to sneak out of Hogwarts?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"Didn't get my formed signed," Harry replied shortly, not taking his eyes off the book.

With the understanding that the conversation was over, Daphne sighed quietly and pulled out her Runes homework. She figured she must have inadvertently misspoke at some point, and used the excuse of needing help to repair any damage she may have done, making sure to lean in close when Harry sat down next to her as well as softly touching his arms and hand as much as she could. While initially reluctant to be so close to or receive any sort of contact from her, he quickly relaxed, and she hid a frown when he started returning the actions without thought. She had learned quickly last year that she could make most boys a stuttering puddle with little effort, but Harry, while not unaffected, seemed to simply be enjoying her presence. Shrugging mentally, she pushed her ponderings aside for now; regardless of how he reacted, it was still evident that his previous foul mood was forgotten, thanks to her.

Eventually, she stopped thinking about her actions and simply did whatever came naturally as she and Harry worked on their homework. They had broken up for a late dinner, where she kept a careful eye on him as he quietly ate by himself while she informed Tracey and Blaise of what she had been up to while ignoring the way Malfoy and several others were openly leering at her. The sharp contrast between how she felt when he looked at her, compared to when Harry would while they were working supported Tracey's claims about her need to properly ingratiate herself with Potter and his ilk, and she hurried to finish her dinner before joining him on the way back to the library.

The boy smiled, and she felt a strange warmth tingle in the back of her mind as she returned the gesture. They walked together to the library, and she was just laughing at one of the wry comments Harry had a habit of making about the multitude of moving paintings adorning the walls, when they were interrupted by two of the people that Daphne least wanted to be caught by.

"Harry! We've been looking all over for you!" Granger exclaimed.

"What's she doing here?" Weasley demanded, jerking his chin in Daphne's direction.

Daphne hesitated for only a moment. Normally, she would have just torn Weasley apart, but the boy was Harry's best mate, and she didn't think he would take too kindly to that sort of thing.

"We were headed to the library to work on some homework," Harry replied for her.

"Well, why didn't you tell me?" Granger asked. "I would have been happy to help you."

"Trust me, Granger, he doesn't need it," Daphne said.

Harry smirked, ignoring the pink in his cheeks. "You're not so bad yourself, Sunshine."

"Blimey, Harry, what's up with you?" Weasley demanded. "You've been acting weird since we got here."

"We've barely been here a week," Daphne quipped, prompting a snort from Harry.

"Ron's right, Harry," Granger said. "First you abruptly switch into Runes and Arithmancy at the last moment - which I'm completely fine with - but you can't deny that it, along with this sudden interest in your studies are out of character."

"And now we find you palling around with a bloody snake!" Weasley added heatedly.

"I don't see why that's a problem," Harry replied coolly.

"Because their evil!" Weasley exclaimed. "Don't you remember last year?"

"I don't see what Daphne has to do with Voldemort or Slytherin's monster," Harry countered.

His eyes narrowed when Weasley and Granger shuddered at the Dark Lord's name, and Daphne considered herself lucky that he hadn't seen her slight stiffening as well. Clearly, he was unimpressed with the visceral reaction the Dark Lord's name prompted, and she made a mental note to steel herself against it in the future.

"We never said she did, Harry," Granger began only to be cut off by the red-headed wonder.

"But you can't trust 'em!" His face was turning nearly as red as his hair when he rounded on Daphne and pointed his wand at her accusingly. "You're the reason he's acting weird, aren't you? You've got him under some sort of curse!"

"Who's cursing who, now?" A voice called from out of nowhere. As if materializing from thin air, the older Weasley twins appeared around a corner, sporting matching smirks as they approached the group.

"Brother dear, I do believe that Ronnikins here is making some rather dire accusations," the one on the left said.

"I do believe you're right, Brother mine," the one on the right replied.

"Perhaps he's right, and Ickle Harrikins is under the spell of the lovely Miss Greengrass," Left observed.

"Oh, I dare say he is," Right agreed. "However, while I'm sure there was swaying and swishing involved, I highly doubt she needed much wand work to enchant our poor resident Potter."

Daphne smirked at the implication the twins were making, and it evolved into a full-blown grin when she noticed Harry blush as well before controlling himself.

"This little get-together has been fun and all," she said after a few moments. "But I have an Arithmancy essay to finish, and Potter here has already volunteered to help. So, if you'll be excusing us, we'll take our leave." Without waiting for a reply, she grabbed Harry by the arm and dragged him away from them and into the library. When they entered, Harry took the lead and tried to direct them to a table occupied by one Neville Longbottom, but she resisted.

"What are you doing?" She hissed quietly.

"Going to sit with Neville," Harry replied bluntly.

"But -"

"Look, Daphne," Harry said, cutting her off and making her scowl. "You, Tracey, and Blaise are fun to hang around with and all, but a blind man could see that you have ulterior motives to being my friend."

"Potter, I -"

Once again she was cut off when he held up a hand and shook his head before dragging her to an empty space between some bookshelves. "All I want to know is if you three were planning on trying to control me in any way, because I've had enough of that already, and if so, we'll be parting ways as soon as this conversation is over."

Daphne froze beneath the hard look in his green eyes. Suddenly, it didn't feel like she was speaking to a fellow student, but to an adult who had seen the harshness of the world and refused to be bullied around by it. It was a look she knew well.

"I wouldn't say we were trying to control you," she said with a sigh of defeat. From what little she had already gathered about him, she knew that attempting to lie would just bury her even further, and if that evening's dinner was anything to go by, she and her friends needed support from outside the snake pit as soon as possible. "But we were trying to use you. No one will admit it, but you have one of the scariest reputations in the school. Not even Malfoy wants to harass you if he doesn't have back up. You're also basically Gryffindor's mascot, and friends with the Weasley twins. If someone messed with you, they'd be living under the constant fear of you going to them for help seeking retribution."

"And then you just happened to stumble into my compartment on the train," Harry finished. "And saw an opportunity to get yourself . . . protection, I'm guessing?"

She nodded, and Harry was silent for several minutes and Daphne had to fight the urge to shift uncomfortably under his gaze as he seemed to look right through her and search the very depths of her soul. Eventually, he seemed to find what he was looking for as he sighed and leaned back, running a hand through his messy hair.

"Alright," he murmured. "I believe you. I don't know why, but I'm not as angry as I should be."

"Probably that pesky nobility again," Daphne replied, restraining a sigh of relief when he chuckled.

"Probably. I can't say I understand what you would need protection against, but if you want to come across as a friend to the lions, you need to be seen with more than just me." With a huff that made him chuckle, Daphne agreed and followed him to the table where they sat across from Longbottom, who was reading from a rather thick, leather-bound tome.

"Evening Neville," Harry said as he opened his bag and started to take out his Arithmancy homework.

"O-Oh! Hey, Harry," Longbottom stuttered jumping as he had been too absorbed in his reading to notice their arrival.

"Neville, this is Daphne Greengrass. She's a friend of mine."

"I-It's a pleasure to meet you," Longbottom said, trying his best to smile in spite of his nerves.

"Don't worry, Longbottom, I'm not going to hurt you," Daphne said preemptively, at least trying to shed some her cold demeanor so as not to scare the boy off. "And Potter isn't under any sort of spell either."

"I-I know you haven't done anything to Harry," Longbottom said. "Those with Greengrass blood aren't able to cast any spell with malicious intent on those with Potter blood. The same goes for him on you."

"What are you talking about, Neville?" Harry asked.

Daphne groaned internally. She was somewhat aware that her family and Harry's had a shared past, but had made an effort to avoid talking about it. She knew of Harry's distaste for almost everything that had to do with wizarding high-society thanks to both Malfoy and Weasley giving him a bad impression of it.

"Well, the Potters and the Greengrasses were allies for a few centuries," Longbottom explained. "They even signed a magical treaty. In fact, your family and mine have one too."

"That explains why you tried to fight me, Ron, and Hermione when we tried to go after the stone in first year," Harry said.

Longbottom blushed and shrugged. "Well, that, and I didn't really think I could do anything against you or Hermione with a wand."

"Wait, what stone are you talking about?" Daphne asked, confused.

"The Philosopher's Stone," Harry replied. "It was being stored here during our first year, and Ron, Hermione, and I found out that it someone was going to try to steal it." It was clear by how he was studiously focussing on his homework that Daphne wasn't going to get anymore information from him, and she decided to drop it. However that didn't stop the fact that now, more than ever, she found Harry Potter to be more intriguing than she had ever expected.

*(OoO)*

Harry spent the rest of the week corresponding with Griphook, who was working his way through his vaults and cataloguing the contents therein. He had just received one package in particular when he ran into Daphne once more on her way back to her common room.

"You know, some might think you're stalking me, Potter," she remarked dryly. Harry smirked and shook his head.

"Sorry to disappoint, but I'm here for a slightly older Slytherin." His smirk became a proper grin as she fell into step beside him and the smell of vanilla and old parchment filled his head.

"Oh, so the famous Harry Potter has a taste for older women?" She asked teasingly. "I'll have to inform the gossip columns."

"You certainly are presumptuous today, aren't you, Greengrass?" Harry replied. "Who said I was going to visit a woman?"

Daphne raised an eyebrow, her lips twitching upward. "Oh? Even better. I'm sure hearts will be broken the world over, but the tabloids are sure to eat this up. Especially when the only room in this corridor is Professor Snape's office. Tell me, Potter, has the feud between truly been little more than a ruse to hide this sordid love affair?"

"Why don't you try asking a bit louder?" Harry growled playfully. "I think there were a few chatty Ravenclaws in their common room who didn't hear you."

Daphne rolled her eyes and quashed the giggle that bubble up and threatened to escape her throat. Something about exchanging banter with Harry always left her feeling strangely excited while a warm feeling bloomed within her stomach. She had assumed that his quiet exterior hid a shy boy who would react predictably to a few well-placed barbs with the usual blushing and sputtering that many of her self-proclaimed suitors were reduced to under her verbal jabbing. Instead, while he may have seemed rather shy and introverted when she saw him in passing in previous years, something in him had changed, and he now walked with a quiet confidence, behind which hid a wit in league with her own.

"Why are you here, anyway?" She asked. "It's no secret you and Snape hate each other."

"Maybe," he admitted. "But, among other things, I gained a bit of a change in perspective over the summer." They came to a stop outside Snape's office and Harry raised his fist to knock firmly. Within moments, the door was thrown open, and they were being loomed over by the sneering, bat-like figure of one Severus Snape.

"Potter," he sneered, his voice laced with contempt as he looked Harry up and down. "Is it not bad enough that I must suffer your presence during class hours? And just what are you doing here with one of my snakes?"

"Miss Greengrass and I are exploring a tentative friendship," Harry replied politely. "As for why I'm here, I came across something that I believe was meant for you to have." He reached into his robes and pulled out a thick envelope with Snape's name written on it in neat, flowing script, along with a small wooden box. "There was a second letter saying that if anything happened to her, you were to be given these. I haven't opened either of them." Snape looked over the envelope and seemed to recognise the handwriting on it as his face softened and he shakily took the box and letter from Harry. "For what it's worth, I am sorry for whatever I or my family did to you."

"Where did you find these?" Snape asked quietly, his voice thick with emotion.

"I did some digging into my family's past over the summer," Harry replied vaguely. "Anyway, that was all I wanted to see you about." With that said, he spun in place and walked off, Daphne following along moments later with a confused frown while Snape merely stood in his doorway, stunned.

"What was that about?" She inquired.

"Apparently, Snape and my mum used to be best friends," Harry explained. "I found that letter and box and decided it might be a good olive branch."

"So you just decided to set aside the two years of torment he put you through?" Daphne asked incredulously.

"I'm not saying that I forgive him just like that," Harry said. "But after reading some of Mum's journals and seeing how close they used to be, I had to at least do this for her. Plus, it doesn't do me any good to hold grudges like that. They'd only hold me back."

"From what?"

"From being a person they can be proud of." Harry took a deep breath, calming himself. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I gave some training to do." He made to leave, but was surprised to find Daphne gripping his arm and holding him back.

"Oh, no you don't," she said hastily. "You've been disappearing to Merlin knows where since the start of term, and if I'm going to have interact with even more lions, I'm at least going to get some information on good hiding places and training techniques."

Harry raised an eyebrow curiously, even as he led her up the stairs. "I didn't think you really cared what I was doing."

"I don't," Daphne snapped as they passed the first floor. She took a deep breath and sighed, noting that he seemed content to simply wait in silence until she was ready to speak. "You said the other night that you didn't understand what it was that Blaise, Tracey, and I would possibly need your protection from inside the school."

"I did," Harry replied, his voice soft as he took care not to push her. He didn't know how, but he knew that she was uncomfortable talking about something that made her seem vulnerable. He knew he was the same way, and that if someone tried to push him into divulging something he considered personal, he would simply clam up and push back.

"It's the other Slytherins."

Harry's brow furrowed as he tried to make sense of what she said. "I'm not sure I understand."

"Because of the common belief that Slytherin is some sort of breeding ground for dark wizards and witches, we're usually ostracized by the rest of the school," Daphne explained. "Because of that, we're required to present a united front to the other houses. That's why you don't see any of us telling Malfoy off when he starts acting like a right prick. We're supposed to settle any disputes in-house, away from others. Unfortunately, that also means that if you go against the majority of what your housemates believe, life can suddenly become very . . . _difficult_. And with Draco having Daddy dearest buying him more and more influence, it will only be a matter of time before he's basically the unofficial leader of Slytherin house." She took another deep breath to steady herself, and Harry reached out to squeeze her shoulder without thinking. "However, if you have friends _outside_ of the house, suddenly your fellow Slytherins can't do as much to you for fear that your friends start asking too many questions."

"So, if Malfoy and the other Slytherins know that you, Tracey, and Blaise are friends with me, then you don't have to worry as much about refusing to fall in line," Harry concluded, his anger rising slowly.

"Unlike the others, we're proud of our ambitions," Daphne replied hotly. "We won't set them aside because they interfere with Draco's little schoolyard kingdom. If we're friends with someone like you, who has your reputation, as well as the personal attention of Dumbledore himself, then they'll thing that we have him as well as you on our side, should they try anything."

Harry scowled and took several deep breaths as he tried to rein in his anger. He knew in the back of his head that he should still be upset that Daphne and her friends were blatantly using him for his reputation, but for once, at least someone was being honest about why they were using him. Also, it didn't really seem to affect the way they acted around him, as they were as likely to act like sheep for him as they would Malfoy.

"Alright," he growled. "I can't say I like it, but that makes sense. If this is happening though, I need something in return."

"And what is that?" Daphne replied, surprised for the second time that week that he wasn't shouting at her and demanding she leave him alone.

"I need someone to talk to," he replied, his shoulders sagging as if beneath an enormous weight. "Someone I know won't breathe a single word of what I share with them to another soul without my permission, and who can give me advice when I need it."

"An Oath of Confidence, then," Daphne surmised. Harry merely looked at her in confusion, making her roll her eyes and scoff. "Honestly, it amazes me how little you know about our world. An Oath of Confidence is a magical oath that would keep me from sharing anything you tell me with anyone else unless I have your consent. Even Veritaserum can't make me divulge them."

"It wouldn't hurt you, would it?" He asked, and she fought to control the twitching of her lips at his earnest concern for her wellbeing.

"Not in the least," she replied, pulling out her wand. "Watch. I, Daphne Penelope Greengrass, do pledge myself as confidant to Harry James Potter. His secrets will be my secrets, forever guarded, and never divulged unless explicitly allowed by him. I pledge not to act on what I am told in anything but his best interest, and will never take any action be they intentional or not, to cause his secrets to be revealed to any other. As I will it, so it should be." There was a small thread of golden light that swirled around her arm up to her shoulder as she spoke, and when she finished, the light pulsed before fading away, and she was left standing exactly as she had been before.

"That's it?" He asked.

"That's it," she replied. "You now have yourself one guaranteed confidant to whom you can speak without any fear whatsoever that what you say or do will be divulged to another living soul."

"Huh," he grunted. "Cool." Slowly, his lips curved into a smile, and Daphne firmly reminded herself that there was absolutely _nothing_ cute about it.

 **A/N: Alright, chapter two has now been redone. Besides touching up the writing itself, I also changed how Daphne ends up being Harry's confidant and removed him spilling all his secrets right away, as he obviously still has trust issues, and it felt really forced in the original. You may have noticed as well in the last chapter that I changed his animagus to just a Nemean Lion, mostly because that alone was extremely rare and powerful, and Harry had way too many methods of travel by the later years. I felt like he was a little too knowledgeable about everything in the original, and I wanted to change that as well so that there's more of a focus on how Daphne and others really help him with more than just emotional support (not to say that isn't important). Currently, the plan is to expand a bit on third and fourth years, and use them as a way to properly lay the groundwork as I know where the story is going, and the path that I want it to take now.**

 **Finally, I'd like to once again apologize about the fact that I'm doing this as opposed to continuing with the story as is, but I honestly can't keep writing it, as it always feels rushed and not as fleshed out as it used to, and I'm hoping that this will help with that.**


	3. Chapter 3

No one had seen hide nor hair of Professor Snape for the entire weekend, and it wasn't until dinner on Sunday that he reappeared marching over to where Harry was sitting, listening to Hermione berate Ron for leaving his homework until the last minute and looming threateningly over his back.

"Potter," he said quietly, his reserved tone lacking its usual malice. "Be in my office after dinner."

"What was that about?" Ron asked, watching him glide out of the Great Hall without another word.

Harry shrugged. "If I had to guess, it might have something to do with the letter I gave him last week."

"What letter?" Hermione inquired.

"I found a letter addressed to him from my mum over the summer. I figured I would at least give it to him."

"Your parents went to school with Professor Snape?"

"Mum was apparently some sort of prodigy when it came to Potions," Harry revealed. "I guess it's not really surprising that she would know him."

"Guess you got your skills from your dad's side, then?" Ron teased, making Harry chuckle and lightly punch him in the shoulder.

"Because you're such a master when it comes to everything cauldron-related." The three of them laughed between themselves as they finished their food.

"So, what did the letter say?" Ron asked once they had calmed down.

"How should I know?" Harry replied as he stood up. "Wasn't addressed to me." With a friendly wave, he grabbed his bag and left the Great Hall before they could ask any more questions. He quickly arrived at the door to Snape's office while reminding himself of the reasons behind his choices, and knocked upon it softly.

The door opened of its own accord with a creak, and Harry cautiously looked around before entering when he saw Snape sitting at his desk, staring forlornly at a photo in his hands.

"You have her eyes," he said quietly, not looking away from the photo as Harry took a seat across from him and the door slammed shut behind him.

"So I've been told," Harry replied carefully.

Silence fell between them for several minutes before Snape placed the photo face-down on his desk with a sigh. "I believe I owe you an apology, Mister Potter."

"Sir?"

"Your parents and I attended Hogwarts together in the same year," Snape explained. "From nearly the beginning of our first train ride, your father and I . . . weren't on the best of terms. As the years passed, and I allowed myself to be led down an increasingly darker path, the animosity between he and I only grew. I am ashamed to say that I still carry much of the bitterness I felt towards him to this day, which is why when I saw you, his son who looks nearly identical to him, I used you as an outlet for that rage. For that, I apologize. It was unfair of me to treat you with such contempt because of my lingering issues with a man who was dead nearly a decade before we even met."

Harry swallowed past the lump in his throat that frequently appeared when he thought of his parents. He scrutinised Snape's expression, and saw genuine pain in the man's dark eyes. Whatever had happened between him and his father, Harry could see that Snape was, indeed genuinely sorry for having taken it out on him.

"What - What about my . . . my mother?" He croaked. "You said you knew them both, right?"

Snape's eyes became distant as he lost himself in memories of the past. He didn't utter a word for several seconds before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. When he opened them once more, he looked to have both steeled himself and become more vulnerable than before.

"May I call you Harry?" He asked quietly. Harry nodded and Snape took a deep breath. "What I'm about to tell you, Harry, will not be easy to hear. The headmaster himself does not think you ready to bear the burdens of some of this knowledge, but I believe you deserve to know. By the time I am finished, there is a very real chance that you will genuinely hate me, and I would not fault you for it. I only ask that you remain seated and wait until I am finished before saying anything, is that understood."

"Y-Yes, sir," Harry muttered, trepidation colouring his tone while the frenetic thumping of his heart beating a staccato filled his ears.

With yet another deep breath, Snape prepared himself and spoke in a soft tone, filled with emotion. "I was born the son of a pureblood witch and a Muggle in the shabby little suburb of Spinner's End. My father was an angry, hate-filled man, and I suffered under his roof with no friends for many years. More often than not, the house was filled with the shouting of my parents fighting, and I would sneak outside simply to escape. One day, I happened upon two girls playing in a nearby park, and was amazed when I saw the younger of the two perform little feats of magic, laughing all the while. Unfortunately, this seemed to frighten her sister, who berated her and ran away, leaving her feeling like a freak. Without really thinking about why, I approached the girl and showed her a bit of my own magic, assuring her that she was not a freak, no matter what her sister said." Snape paused to compose himself, before confirming what Harry was starting to suspect. "That was the day I first met Lily Evans. Over the next two years, she and I became nearly inseparable, despite my poor social skills and awkward demeanor. I still remember the day she received her Hogwarts letter, the way she nearly vibrated with excitement made it hard to be upset about anything.

"Unfortunately, she and I were sorted into rival houses; myself in Slytherin, and she in Gryffindor. Despite that, however, we still made efforts to remain close friends. While attending Hogwarts I developed a fascination with the Dark Arts, and ended up falling in with several other students who would later become followers the Dark Lord. This, and my frequent confrontations with your father put significant strain on our friendship. Lily would frequently try to help, but my pride wouldn't allow her. This all culminated in an incident in fifth year, where between my bruised pride, the constant slander espoused my friends and housemates, and lingering bitterness towards my father, I . . . I called her a Mudblood." Harry took a sharp intake of breath, and felt a strange mixture of rage, indignation, and, strangely, pity. It was one thing to hear Malfoy throw that word about without remorse, but seeing Snape admit it, and the pain of regret on his face after nearly thirty years, it made getting angry with him seem . . . pointless. Like, no matter what Harry said, he wouldn't be able to make Snape feel worse, or regret his actions more than he already did.

"That was the final straw, and our friendship broke beneath its weight," he admitted. "Even after trying several times to apologise, your mother never forgave me, and rightfully so. I had allowed the opinions of my peers, and my own hatred to poison the only good thing in my life. Afterwards, I sank into depression, throwing myself headlong into my devotion to the Dark Arts, and when the time came, and I was asked to join the Death Eaters, to join the Dark Lord's ranks, I did so without hesitation."

Harry's jaw dropped as he tried to understand what he had just been told. Snape had followed Voldemort? Did that mean he still did? But, if he did, then he wouldn't have worked so hard during Harry's first year to keep Quirrel away from the Philosopher's Stone. Did he switch sides? If so, what could have motivated someone, who was apparently filled with so much hate and darkness to relinquish it and return to the light?

Snape must have realised what Harry was thinking as he smiled sadly, his usual sneer nowhere to be found. "And now we get to the part where I fear you might come to hate me," he said softly, his voice nearly a whisper. "While I was a Death Eater, I was spying on Dumbledore and happened to overhear something. You've no doubt heard your fellow students tell of Professor Trelawney, correct?" Harry nodded dumbly, his heartbeat thundering in his ears as he listened to the Potions Master bare himself completely. "While the rumors of her fraudulence carry a significant amount of weight, she does possess the blood of a Prophet. And on occasion, she will enter a trance-like state and utter a _true_ prophecy. It was during an interview with the headmaster for the position of professor that she happened to make one such prophecy. I only managed to hear the first part of it before being discovered and thrown out, but I brought my findings to the Dark Lord regardless.

"From what I heard it was prophesied that at the end of July, a child would be born who would bring about the fall of the Dark Lord. He was predictably enraged by this and set about hunting down anyone who might fit that description. It wasn't until weeks later that I learned that my best friend was pregnant." Tears dripped down Snape's ashen cheeks and Harry sat there, stunned. "I begged the Dark Lord to spare her, and when that failed, I approached Dumbledore and told him that the Dark Lord knew of the prophecy. You and your parents were hidden away, and I thought you all safe. Your parents had made use of a powerful charm that hid any location completely unless it was divulged by the Secret Keeper. So you see, it is because of me that you are now an orphan."

The two of them sat in complete silence for several minutes. Snape sat with his head down, sobbing quietly while Harry tried to work his way through everything he had learned.

"I want to hate you," he whispered eventually, breaking the silence with the same effect as a cannon blast. "I want to be angry, and scream, and blame you for everything that has happened to me over the last twelve years. But I can't. Everything you've told me of your childhood reminds me of my own, but then I think about how you've held on to all this hate and pain for so long that it changed you into the man you are today, and it's like looking into the future. It's clear that what you did nearly destroyed you. I won't let it happen to me."

Snape looked at him, visibly surprised as he took another deep breath to compose himself. "Harry," he croaked. "I will never be able to properly atone for what I did. But, hearing you say that, makes me feel like there might come a day where, at the very least, I might be able to live with myself once again, and for that I am eternally grateful."

"In that case," Harry proposed. "If I wanted to share something with you. Something I didn't even want Dumbledore knowing . . ."

"My loyalty to him has always been proxy for my loyalty to your mother," Snape said. "As such, I am more loyal to you, than I am to him, or any other. Anything you told me would never be known by another living soul so long as I live."

"Does that mean you'll be making me an Oath of Confidence too?" Harry asked.

"No," Snape replied, shaking his head. "An Oath of Confidence is a purely political promise. It is only truly recognised between members of the Wizengamot in matters of scandal and such. Has someone made such an Oath to you?"

"Er - yeah," Harry replied, his mood dropping further at the thought of yet another person lying to him. "Daphne made one to me the night I visited you. I agreed to give her, Tracey, and Blaise a chance at being my friends, in exchange for having someone I could trust completely."

"And your two friends, Weasley and Granger?" Snape asked. "You don't trust them?"

"I trust them with my life," Harry replied quickly. "It's just . . . I know them. If I told them everything I learned this summer, there would be the risk of Ron accidentally revealing something in a fit of anger, or a mere slip of the tongue."

"And Miss Granger?"

"There's a very real possibility that she wouldn't listen to me if I asked her not to tell Dumbledore. She'd think there was some sort of misunderstanding, and take it upon herself to go to him, or one of the other teachers, and clear it up. She cares, but she also will single-mindedly believe that her way is the right way of dealing with things."

"I see," Snape said slowly. "In that case, let me assure you that nothing you share with me will ever be divulged, and, in the case of Miss Greengrass, I believe this was simply a matter of ignorance, not malice."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked, cursing himself for the hopeful tone in voice.

"I believe that Miss Greengrass simply misunderstood what an Oath of Confidence pertained to, and wasn't trying to deceive you in any way."

Harry was unable to stop the happy feeling from spreading through him as he sighed in relief. He had no idea why, but, for some reason, the thought of Daphne betraying him stung nearly as bad as the revelations he had learned over the summer.

"In that case," he said, grinning. "Do you think we could wait until I can tell you both at the same time?"

"I don't see why not," Snape replied. "In the meantime, curfew is nearly upon us. We will continue this discussion with Miss Greengrass at a later date."

Harry nodded and bid farewell before making his way back to the common room, thinking about everything he had just learned. Along the way, he looked out the window and noticed how close the moon was to being full, making him wince. He could already feel the call of his instincts like a war drum in the back of his mind in time with the anxious rhythm of his heart.

The pounding only increased as the full moon came ever closer, and Harry began to have a hard time controlling himself. He became noticeably more irritable, snapping at Ron and Hermione whenever they asked him what was wrong and if it had anything to do with his meeting with Snape. He managed to tell them that he and Snape had reached a form of truce, but was unwilling to give them a detailed word-for-word retelling of the event. By Thursday, he noticed himself suddenly sprouting fur on the back of his hands, or biting his lips by accident due to his teeth elongating out of nowhere. Zephyr helped as much as he could, but it was with great relief that Harry found himself sitting next to Daphne in Snape's office once more that night.

"Now, Miss Greengrass, I've been informed that you have made an Oath of Confidence to Mister Potter," he said.

"Yes, Professor," Daphne replied. "Potter expressed a desire for a confidante with whom he could share whatever he needed without fear of his secrets being revealed."

"And were you aware that such an Oath is only applicable within the context of the Wizengamot and the alliances therein?"

"What?" Daphne asked, confusion evident. "But I heard my father reassure his friends that nothing said under the Oath would be shared."

"In a sense he was correct," Snape replied. "Oaths are legal magic, however, and while it would protect his compatriots from being tricked, or dosed with Veritaserum in their drinks, its protection does not extend to matters that are not legislative by nature. There is no true Oath that completely guarantees secrecy, as even an Unbreakable Vow can be circumvented and creates more problems than it solves."

Daphne's jaw dropped and she immediately whirled around to face Harry, fear etched across her features. "Potter, I didn't know this, I swear!"

"It's okay, Daphne," Harry replied, smiling. "Professor Snape explained this all to me beforehand. Our deal still stands." Taking a deep breath, Harry proceeded to explain to the two of them everything that had happened since the beginning of summer, glossing over his uncle's reaction to him blowing up his Aunt Marge. Both of them sat there quietly, listening to him, until Daphne finally broke the silence.

"Morganna's frilly bloomers, Potter, it's like your cursed or something."

"I can see now why you are . . . distrustful of the headmaster," Snape added. "Luckily, I am already brewing a rather large stock of wolfsbane, so it's doubtful that anyone will notice if I happen to make some more."

"That would be very much appreciated," Harry replied. "I can resist the transformation regardless of whether I've taken it, but the potion helps and keeps me from feeling too sick the next day."

"Wait, Professor, why would you already be brewing Wolfsbane?" Daphne asked.

"It's for Lupin," Harry explained. "He's a werewolf, isn't he?"

Snape nodded and Daphne turned back to him. "How do you know?"

Harry smirked humorlessly, still navigating his way back to the present emotionally, and tapped his nose. "The nose knows."

They spent a little longer talking, and Snape requested a few drops of Harry's blood so he might better examine how Harry supposedly differed from a regular werewolf. Harry agreed and hardly even flinched when he cut open his palm and squeezed his blood into a small crystal phial before Snape healed it and sent them away for the night.

*(OoO)*

Saturday night was the full moon, and, with Snape's help, Harry managed to sneak down to the Entrance Hall where he nearly stumbled upon seeing Daphne standing there next to Snape.

"Potter, are you here?" Snape asked quietly, looking around and zeroing in on the spot where Harry nearly tripped.

"Yes, sir," Harry replied, somewhat breathlessly as he was absorbed by how _good_ Daphne smelled.

"Good, take Miss Greengrass under your cloak and follow me," he ordered in a tone that brokered no argument.

Harry obeyed, and tried desperately to hide how much he was being affected by Daphne's proximity. They followed Snape out onto the grounds while the last traces of the sun were lost beneath the Black Lake. Now, more than ever, Harry could feel the pull in his soul and couldn't help the low rumble that escaped his throat. Hearing it, Snape picked up his pace and led them into the Forbidden Forest. Another twenty minutes passed before he told them to stop and they found themselves in a clearing not far from the lakeshore.

"Come out from under the cloak, Potter," Snape said.

Harry did as told, and the moment he was exposed he doubled over in pain. Daphne almost screamed as she watched his body change, but Professor Snape held up a hand and ordered silence. She couldn't contain some of her whimpers, however, as she watched Harry change. The sound of clothes tearing preceded his robes falling off his body in rags as he started to grow taller and taller. She watched with wide eyes as he screamed in pain, only for it to transition into a guttural roar.

Black fur sprouted all over his exposed body in patches while his messy hair lengthened, falling down his back and over his shoulders. The harsh clicking of his bones popping before breaking with a sickening crack pierced the air, dampening the wet tearing of his skin and muscles tearing as his body grew and changed shape, forcing him onto all fours while dark claws burst from underneath his finger and toe nails. There was another ripping sound as his spine extended and lengthened into a thin, dark tail, topped with a thick tuft of onyx hair. The entire transformation took maybe five minutes, but when it was finished, Daphne couldn't help but be in awe.

Standing in the place of a scrawny, thirteen year-old boy was a massive, black lion. Daphne guessed its shoulders probably reached her navel, with its thickly coiled muscles bunching with every breath.

"Harry," Professor Snape called hesitantly. "Can you hear me?"

The lion turned its head at the sound of his voice, and Daphne felt oddly comforted that the eyes staring up at the Professor were still the same bright shade of green, though there was definitely an edge to them that wasn't normally seen in Harry's. The lion took a careful, silent step toward him and sniffed the air. He seemed to be looking for something, and Daphne's heart hammered as he kept edging closer to her, his head bobbing up and down to sniff both the air and the ground. When he still failed to locate her, the lion turned to Professor Snape and released a rumbling growl, his tail flicking back and forth angrily, while his lips curled back to reveal a mouthful of fangs the size of Daphne's little finger.

"What are you looking for, Harry?" Professor Snape asked, only to wince when Harry leapt back away from him. Raising his head, he opened his jaws and released a thunderous roar that forced Daphne to cover her ears. Zephyr suddenly appeared in a flash of light and a booming crack and flew around the lion's head before coming to halt just above him and looking him in the eye. Apparently, whatever the thunderbird did was working, as Harry seemed to calm down before going back to sniffing the ground, getting closer and closer to where Daphne was standing, frozen. Once again, he growled in frustration as he failed to find her, increasing in volume as he slowly padded towards the path along which they came down from the school.

"Greengrass!" Snape hissed. "What are you doing?"

Without thinking, Daphne threw off the invisibility cloak and took a step towards Harry, who had spun around at the sound of Snape's voice. Padding quietly towards her, Harry began sniffing the ground again before raising his head and sniffing her. Every muscle in her body remained locked in fear as the lion's burning green eyes looked up at her before he suddenly leapt away from her and crouched down, his tail whipping through the air playfully as he looked at her before Zephyr glided down and started to playfully swoop around him, prompting Harry to pounce after him.

Daphne watched the massive beast chase Zephyr around like an overgrown kitten and couldn't stop the laughter that bubbled its way up her chest, more than a touch of hysteria colouring her tone. Eventually, Harry seemed to grow bored of chasing Zephyr and returned to her, where he pressed himself against her and walked in a circle around her legs, eventually knocking her over with his considerable bulk before collapsing on the ground himself with a loud _thud_!

She yelped softly as he placed a paw the size of her head on her stomach and pulled her close, where he licked her once more before curling around her, his massive body warming her in the cool September air as a low rumbling emanated from his chest.

"Are you . . . _purring?_ " Daphne asked, giggling as she reached out and ran her fingers through the thick, soft fur of his mane. "Oh, there is no way you're going to live this down."

"Interesting," Snape murmured. He attempted to take a step towards them, but Harry turned his head away from Daphne and growled lowly at him, his lips curling back to reveal his piercing fangs.

"What's interesting, Professor?" Daphne inquired as Harry calmed down and returned his attention to her. She knew she should be worried about how territorial the massive jungle cat was acting, but she was still regaining her rationality from the paralyzing fear that had gripped mere moments before, and couldn't help but imagine how nice it would be to have her own massive beast to keep the likes of Malfoy away from her. The fact that said beast was secretly the one boy whom Malfoy detested above all others was just icing on the cake.

"It would seem Mister Potter's affliction is rather more unique than previously thought," Snape concluded.

"How so?"

"Due to the rather unique concoction of basilisk venom and phoenix tears running through Mister Potter's blood, it would seem that his lycanthropy has manifested not in forcing him to become a werewolf, but, instead to transform into, and become more closely linked to his Animagus form."

"Our transfiguration textbooks mentioned something about Animagi," Daphne recalled. "Something about a human capable of turning into animals at will."

"Close," Snape replied. "An Animagus is a witch or wizard who has mastered the ability to transfigure themselves into an animal at will, true. However, unlike regular cross-species transfiguration, an Animagus is capable of changing without a wand, as well as retaining their mind - as opposed to regressing to that of the animal into which they have changed. Animagi are also bound to only one animal form, and it differs from person to person."

"So, Harry's Animagus form is that of a lion?" Daphne concluded, smiling slightly when Harry lifted his head and looked between the two of them, as if registering they were talking about him before going back to rubbing his cheek against Daphne while purring.

"Not just any lion," Snape corrected. "It seems that Mister Potter has changed into a Nemean Lion. While not unheard of, it is quite rare for an Animagus to take the form of a magical creature. However, it would also seem that, due to his Lycanthropy, he is more closely linked to his more . . . bestial side - particularly on nights such as this."

"Does that have anything to do with why he seems so . . . attached to me?" Daphne asked, her hand returning to Harry's thick mane once more.

"Perhaps," Snape replied. "The Nemean Lion is a powerful magical creature, and there isn't much information on them. What is known, besides their historically famous durability, is that they always hunt in pairs, and more often than not take down prey both bigger and stronger than them through the application of strategy and teamwork that supercedes many other creatures both magical and mundane. As they are virtually immune to spellfire there has yet to be any in depth study done on them in captivity."

"If that's the case, how can you be sure that he really is one?" Daphne asked.

"Besides his behaviour and size, I can't be," Snape conceded. "Not without actually trying to harm him."

"Either way," Daphne said, disregarding that idea immediately. "You think his animal half is the reason why he's acting like this now?"

"Most probably it is a combination of that and his . . ." Snape's lips curled in an expression of distaste, "adolescent admirations."

Daphne felt her cheeks warm, and was thankful for the darkness surrounding her. "I see."

"In any case, considering this is his first time experiencing the change, I would ask that you remain with him for the night," Snape said. "Otherwise, I believe he would simply enter the school in search of you. I wouldn't worry, though, his presence is likely enough to keep any other creature far away from you."

"I . . . I understand, sir," Daphne said slowly as Snape turned to leave. "Good night, Professor." She watched as Snape disappeared into the darkness surrounding the clearing, leaving her alone. She shivered as she looked into the looming shadows of the trees, prompting Harry to readjust himself so as to bury her in his fur and warmth. This made her think of everything she had learned over the past few days concerning Harry and the difficulties he faced. She had already been aware that he, like many other boys, had developed something of a crush on her, and part of her (the decidedly Slytherin part) was practically intoxicated by the idea the she could easily have Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, heir to several powerful, ancient families wrapped around her finger, as well as a massive, potentially indestructible beast at her beck and call to protect her. As quick as those thoughts came, however, they were buried under a mountain of shame for even thinking of using Harry like that. He hadn't shared much, but from what she had learned since walking into his compartment on the Hogwarts Express was that he was more intelligent than he let on, was decidedly fed up with being used and manipulated, and the only thing he really wanted at the moment was an actual friend that he could trust.

He had even gone so far as to accept that she and her friends had befriended him in order to use his reputation to protect themselves because he was desperate for people who would actually care for him without forcing him back into his role as Dumbledore's pawn. The least she could do was hold up her end of the deal. She was a Greengrass after all, she had a reputation to maintain.

 **A/N: So the main differences here, besides changing Harry's animagus form, is the relationship between him and Daphne. Originally, it was written like he had conned her into an Oath only for her to immediately be fine with it and liking her before essentially being retconned out. This time, I had her willingly make the Oath, only for Snape to dissuade that, otherwise it would have resulted in several complications later on. What I also changed is that, while Daphne shows some hints about liking Harry as a friend, she still has only really known him for two-three weeks. She's more concerned with protecting herself and willing to use Harry to do it.**


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Daphne snuck back into the castle with a hilariously embarrassed Harry, his invisibility cloak the only surviving shred of clothing he had left. They made sure to grab his clothes to eliminate the possibility of Hagrid or anyone else could stumbling upon them and assuming a student had been viciously attacked, and once inside the castle went their separate ways . Her mind was abuzz with everything she had learned the night before, and she sat quietly at the table between Blaise and Tracey, ignoring their incessant questions as she tried to piece everything together and figure out where she fit in now that she had allowed herself to be caught in the hurricane of craziness that was the life of one Harry Potter.

She didn't see Harry until their shared Potions class where he seemed to be fielding an inquisition by Granger and Weasley as they waited outside the classroom due to his not being in their common room the night before. She watched as he struggled to hold back his annoyance, the tension in his shoulders and his tightly curled fists indicating he was getting ever closer to snapping at his friends. Instead of finally yelling at his two friends and causing a scene though, Daphne watched with well-hidden interest as he seemed to smell something; he lifted his head, sniffing at the air a few times and closed his eyes as he relaxed slightly before opening them and turning to face her with a shy smile on his face.

I guess whatever calming effect I seem to have on him extends to his human form as well.

Harry sighed in relief when Professor Snape opened the door to his classroom and ushered them inside, cutting Hermione and Ron's interrogation of him short. He felt bad about keeping such a secret from his friends. He had no doubt that they would be there for him every step of the way, and help him deal with his new condition however they could, but he was also sure that if he told them, he'd either be dealing with Dumbledore as Hermione would undoubtedly go to a member of the staff for advice - and while she may not explicitly reveal anything, he doubted her ability to not only deceive whichever teacher she went to, but Dumbledore, who was a genius in a class completely his own, as well, and knew he would inevitably find out - or he would have to deal with the fallout from Ron accidentally letting it slip where he could be overheard, which would mean the rumor mill would have it all over the school in less than a day, and parents would hear about it as soon as the first owl could deliver a letter.

Snape had them working on a Shrinking Solution today, and Harry set himself up on the end of his desk next to Ron, smiling when Daphne set up her own station across the aisle from him, though she refused to even look at him and maintained a look of cool indifference. The first half of the class went by relatively calmly, though Hermione and Ron kept shooting him looks as he tried to focus on his task, and he grit his teeth to try and ignore them his temper rising. Professor Snape patrolled from station to station critiquing everyone's potions. Eventually, he arrived at Harry's desk, and he prepared himself for the worst. Snape may have apologised for his behaviour and explained why he was so obviously biased towards Malfoy and his lot, but that didn't mean Harry was sure he could maintain his temper as the Potions professor leaned over his cauldron and peered down his hooked nose at Harry's potion, which was slightly darker than the textbook advised at this point in the process.

"Tell me, Potter, are you perhaps, colour blind?"

"No, sir," Harry replied.

"Then would you care to explain to me why your potion is not a blood red colour?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Harry grit out. "Sir."

"Clearly, you were not following the instructions properly," Snape drawled. "Nor have you taken the time to gently heat your potion. I'm almost impressed at how quickly you have managed to make a mistake." Taking out his wand, Snape vanished Harry's potion, snatching his arm back as the fire under his cauldron flared suddenly before continuing on to Ron's cauldron.

Taking a deep breath, he felt himself calm down as the smell of vanilla, parchment, and something unidentifiable filled his head and he looked over to see Daphne watching him through the corner of her eye. Smiling to himself, he turned his attention to the fire under his cauldron, and watched it shrink the more he calmed himself.

With his composure regained, he set about starting his potion once more as he realised that may have been the first time he had actually received constructive criticism in a Potions class.

"Hey, Harry," Seamus Finnigan said, leaning over to borrow Harry's brass scales, "have you heard? Daily Prophet this morning - they reckon Sirius Black's been sighted."

"Where?" Harry asked. He had seen more than one photo portraying his parents with Sirius Black, and, according to Tipsy his father had considered the man to be a brother in all but blood. Apparently, they were so close that Black had even been appointed as Harry's godfather. That had taken Harry quite a bit of time to wrap his head around, and when he did, it only created more questions.

"Not too far from here," said Seamus, who looked strangely excited about an alleged mass murderer being spotted near where they lived. "It was a Muggle who saw him. 'Course she didn't really understand. They all think he's just an ordinary criminal, don't they? So she phoned the telephone hotline. By the time the Ministry of Magic got there, he was gone."

Harry hummed, wondering what Black could be after. Tipsy had told him that Sirius Black had betrayed his parents to Voldemort, but when he asked Griphook about it, the goblin had informed him that, among other things, Black had never received a trial, and therefore was never convicted. On top of that, according to Griphook, Black was still considered his godfather by Gringotts, something that wouldn't be possible had he actually betrayed his parents.

"Thinking of trying to catch Black single-handed, Potter?" Malfoy sneered from his desk.

"Was thinking of sending him some instructions to the Slytherin common room, actually," Harry replied off-handedly, not looking up from his potion as he forced himself to remain calm. Malfoy seemed unfazed by his comment and Harry could almost hear the thin, mean smile in his voice.

"Of course, if it was me, I'd have done something before now. I wouldn't be staying in school like a good little boy."

"What are you on about Malfoy?" Ron grunted.

Malfoy let out a low, sneering laugh. "Maybe you'd rather not risk your neck. Leave it to the Dementors, right? But if it was me, I'd want revenge. Would hunt him down myself."

"Why?" Harry asked. "Because he's supposed to be some sort of mass murderer? Or because he seems to be the one who betrayed my parents to Voldemort?"

Everyone around Harry flinched and he smirked as Malfoy accidentally dropped his entire bottle of cowbane into his potion, causing it to bubble and roil as it changed from an acid green solution, to a bright purple slop that quickly caught fire. His cauldron shook violently as the potion became more and more volatile, and Harry threw himself to the ground, tackling Daphne as it exploded with a loud BOOM!

"Weasley!" Snape roared. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for sabotaging another student's potion! And another thirty for endangering the class! Now get out, class dismissed!"

Harry sighed with relief, and looked down to see Daphne glaring up at him.

"Comfortable, Potter?"

Harry's cheeks burned, but he felt himself smiling as he looked into her icy blue eyes. "Quite. You make a pretty decent pillow, Greengrass."

Daphne's lips twitched, and Harry grinned as she shoved him off of her and stood up. He watched as she gathered her things and beat a hasty retreat from the dungeons before doing the same.

*(OoO)*

Once again, Daphne found herself watching Harry field questions from his friends as they sat in the Professor Lupin's class, waiting for him to show up. According to Harry, he had returned to the Gryffindor common room to grab some extra sleep before class began. This led to more questions about where he had been that morning, however, and Daphne almost pitied the boy as he sighed in exasperation and explained once again that he had simply woken up early and decided to go out for a bit of fresh air. Daphne was impressed by his ability to deceive his friends, and almost would have believed him herself had she not seen him get off the stairs at the second floor. It was entirely possible he had simply found an unused classroom and napped there - after the events of the night before, he was bound to still be exhausted - but that didn't explain why he would look more tired after returning.

She fought the urge to smirk as Professor Lupin entered the class, smiling vaguely and placing his tattered old briefcase on the teacher's desk and Harry heaved a massive sigh of relief. Lupin looked even more worn-out than Harry did, and Daphne figured that he must have had a night even rougher than they did.

"Good afternoon," he greeted. "Quills and books in your bags and wands out, if you please. Today's lesson will be practical."

A few curious looks were exchanged as the class put away their books, and she could see the mixture of excitement and trepidation on Harry's face. They had yet to have a practical Defence Against the Dark Arts class that taught more than how to deal with a room full of pixies. Clearly Harry was as excited as anyone to get to use his magic, but Daphne found herself feeling anxious as she stood up and followed Professor Lupin with the rest of the class down a deserted corridor and around a corner. After about five minutes of leading them through various corridors, he stopped right outside the door to the staff room.

"Inside, please," he said, opening it and standing back.

The staffroom was a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs. A handful of desks stood near the windows, while a large fireplace lay empty at the end of the room. With a swish of his wand, Lupin moved all the chairs to the side of the room and called them all to gather around a small wardrobe that was rattling at the far end of the room. What followed was a rather dull lecture on Boggarts that Daphne felt could have been done just as easily in their seats back in the classroom, rather than uncomfortably shifting from foot to foot. Her boredom was alleviated, however, when he called Longbottom forward and revealed that they would each be facing off against the boggart as they learned how to deal with them.

Dread filled her veins like ice water and Daphne found herself stiffening as she, Tracey, and Blaise were herded into the line that was forming.

"It'll be okay," a familiar voice whispered in her ear as they watched Weasley's boggart turn into a massive spider. "I'll be right behind you the whole time, and neither I, nor Tracey or Blaise will think any less of you, regardless of what it turns into."

"And who said I would care if you did, Potter?" She hissed, her increasingly turbulent emotions overriding her need for Harry to like her and her friends as she glared forward diligently.

Rather than reply, she felt his hand grab hers and give it a comforting squeeze while Tracey and Blaise both smiled at her reassuringly.

Harry watched as she took a deep breath and some of the tension left her shoulders. He took a step back. Ron and Hermione were at the back of the class having already faced a giant spider and Professor McGonagall handing out a failing grade respectively. Finally, it was Daphne's turn, and she stepped forward to face the massive jack-in-the-box that the last student had left behind. The giant toy became a blur of motion as the boggart focused on her and started to transform before finally settling on the form of a stern-looking man. He had tanned skin, and a thin, pointed face. His hair was the colour of bark with sprinklings of grey around his temples, and his steely blue eyes had a glare that almost matched Snape's in severity as he surveyed the class before finally settling on Daphne. Daphne shook slightly as the man regarded her the same way he would a stain on the bottom of his polished shoe, and her fear seemed to grow as he took a menacing step towards her.

"R-R-Ridik-kulus," Daphne stuttered as she held her wand up at the approaching man. Nothing happened, and this seemed to make the man even angrier as she fearfully backed away from him. The entire class seemed frozen as they watched the boggart get closer and closer before raising its hand, a bright green ring glinting malevolently in the light, and bringing it down harshly.

The sound of flesh hitting flesh filled the air, and Daphne cringed, her eyes closed as she waited for the pain before opening her eyes when it did not come. Standing in front of her, his cheek bleeding from where the ring had cut him, was Harry. He didn't even realise he had moved until he felt the hot stinging on his cheek, and he glared at the man as the boggart focussed on him and started to change. He wondered idly what it would change into and thought back on the many terrifying things he had encountered over the years.

Eventually, the boggart stopped changing and became a massive troll that roared and swung its club around, causing many people in the class to scream in fright. Harry looked at the troll and was reminded of the other events during his first year that had filled him with fear, and watched as the boggart changed accordingly. First it changed from the troll into a titanic, three-headed dog that barked and snarled as its six eyes regarded Harry and the rest of the class, but as Harry continued to follow his memories, the boggart continued to change. This time it took the shape of a tangled pile of roots and tendrils that made everyone except for Neville, Ron, and Hermione. Finally, it settled on the form of a ten-foot tall statue of an armored woman with a sword, poised to strike.

Before it, or Harry, could move, however, Professor Lupin threw himself in front of it as well, causing the boggart to shift into a large silver disk which he promptly turned into a yellow balloon and banished back into the cupboard.

"Well, I think that's enough for today, don't you think?"

The class was dismissed, and Harry rolled his eyes as he watched Malfoy slither through the crowd in his direction.

"Wow, Potter," he jeered as he approached. "I didn't know someone could be afraid of so many things that even a boggart couldn't decide what to turn into." Harry didn't reply and looked through the crowd for Daphne only to find her glaring coldly at him before turning around and marching off down the hall.

"And what would yours turn into, Malfoy?" Ron demanded as he and Hermione joined Harry. "Daddy telling you that you have to solve your problems on your own for once?"

"What did happen in there, Harry?" Hermione asked as they left Malfoy fuming in the hallway.

"Not sure," Harry replied. "I was just wondering what the boggart would turn into for me, and I started thinking back on all the times I'd been scared since coming to Hogwarts." Ron and Hermione continued to discuss the events of the day, having thankfully dropped their inquisition into where he disappeared to the night before, but Harry found it hard to focus as he kept finding his thoughts circling back to Daphne, and the man the boggart had turned into. He hoped she was okay. Their friendship may have been more of a professional affair, as it was based off their mutual use for one another, but that didn't stop Harry from being unable to get the expression of terror she had worn when facing the man off his mind for the following weeks to come, nor the one she had tried to hide behind a visage of apoplectic anger as she stormed away from the class.

 **A/N: I'm sorry for this taking so long to edit and get posted. Real Life interrupted me and I had to put this on the back burner for a while, and after that, it just kind of fell by the wayside. Anyway, I'm sure this is still going to aggravate many who are hoping for me to continue the story, but I'm still firm in my desire to improve the story before continuing it, so I apologize for any** **discrepancies** **between what you've read so far and what lays ahead.**

 **Anyway, this was just let people know that I hadn't forgotten about this story and I will see it through to the end. . . eventually.**


	5. Chapter 5

Halloween was rapidly approaching, and Harry found himself dreading it more than usual. The only bright side would be that there was a full moon on the thirty-first, meaning that he would at least be able to spend the anniversary of his parents' deaths in his animagus form, which Sirius had affectionately referred to as Nightfire after remembering the way Harry had emerged from the darkness without a sound, as if the shadows had simply created him at that moment, before preparing to unleash hellfire on whoever he perceived as a threat. Daphne thought the name was somewhat silly, considering how she had yet to let him live down the fact that his animal half was about as dangerous as a two-hundred kilogram kitten when it came to her. Though she did eventually concede that the name was appropriate, if a little on the nose, and Harry had settled for that.

Harry had also shared with her the details concerning Sirius and Pettigrew's presence within the school. She put on a brave face, but thanks to his new senses having used her to attune themselves, he could tell that she was secretly unsettled, and a little bit afraid, by the idea of their being a murdered roaming the halls of the castle under the noses of everybody. Luckily, Harry and Severus were able to distract her as she elected to join Harry in his private training sessions more often now, consistently joining him in an abandoned classroom once or twice a week, while Professor Snape had finally agreed to teach them the Patronus Charm after dinner most other days, conveniently giving Harry detention during Potions both as an excuse and to fulfill his need to mess with the other Houses every day.

With everything going on, Harry was so busy that the weeks seemed to fly by until, while on his way to Defence Against the Dark Arts about a week before Halloween, Severus pulled him aside into an abandoned classroom. "Professor Snape?" Harry asked. "What are you doing?"

"I thought it prudent to warn you," Severus replied seriously. "Though I learned today that my warning will have to be twofold."

"Warn me of what?"

"The more immediate problem has to do with your next class," Severus said. "Professor Lupin plans on showing your class a boggart."

Thinking back to the textbooks he had read, Harry tried to recall what he knew about boggarts. "So, we're going to be facing our worst fears?"

"Unfortunately," Severus replied. "I don't think I have to tell you what most people are expecting yours to take the form of."

"I'm not scared of him," Harry said, conviction straightening his spine. "Besides, it wouldn't really be him anyways."

Severus shook his head and smiled. "Once again, you prove that you are wise beyond your years, Harry."

"Is that what you wanted to warn me about?"

"Not exactly. My real warning concerning it involved the fact that you will be facing the boggart in front of the whole class."

"Do you think there is some way I could manipulate what the boggart turns into?" Harry asked.

"If anyone could do it, you could," Severus answered. "You're progress in Occlumency is astounding for someone of your age, even to another Mentalist like me. Unfortunately, we don't have the time to figure out how you would go about it."

"I think I have an idea," Harry replied cheekily. "What was your other warning about?"

"I was examining your map for the past few days, and I believe I know where Pettigrew has been hiding."

"It's Ron's rat, isn't it?"

"How could you tell?"

"He and Hermione were arguing about her cat chasing it, and I managed to see that it's missing a finger on its left paw."

Severus scowled at the implication of a murderer sleeping feet away from Harry before focusing himself and handing the map back to Harry. "Be extremely careful, Harry. The moon's coming, and we don't need you acting rashly."

Harry nodded, and, checking the map to make sure the coast was clear, exited the classroom before running off to his Defence class. He had just managed to slip inside and take a seat next to Daphne when Professor Lupin walked in and instructed them all to stand before moving the desks aside with a swish of his wand and lecturing them on the contents of the small wardrobe rattling at the far end of the room. After a humorous demonstration from Neville, where he had the privilege of seeing Severus dressed up as Neville's grandmother, they all lined up to take their turn with the boggart. Harry noticed the tension in Daphne's shoulders as she walked stiffly towards the front of the line, and carefully reached his hand forward to give hers a squeeze.

"It'll be okay," he whispered. "I'll be right behind you the whole time, and I promise that neither I, nor Neville, Tracey, or Blaise will judge you on what it turns into."

Daphne took a deep breath, and released some of her tension as a small smile appeared on her face. It was her turn next and she gulped as she stepped forward and watched as the giant jack-in-the-box that the last student had left behind started to shift and morph until it took the shape of a severe looking man with dark hair and steely blue eyes. His glare surveyed the classroom before finally settling on Daphne and observing her as if she were a stain on his polished shoe. The longer he watched her, the angrier he seemed to become, and Harry could hear Tracey gasp from where she was standing off to the side as he stepped closer to Daphne, who watched stunned as he raised his hand, a bright green ring glinting malevolently in the light as he prepared to backhand her. He never got the chance though, as Harry stepped forward and placed his hand on the small of her back, drawing the man's attention as Daphne raised her arm and shouted the spell they had learned, transforming him into a clown covered in strange makeup, attempting to tap dance despite the comically large shoes on his feet.

Harry smiled as she turned to look him in the eye, and was suddenly struck by the urge to wrap his arms around her, but he squashed that feeling down as Tracey ran over and took over hugging Daphne while Harry turned and faced the boggart. The entire class seemed to freeze as the boggart stopped dancing and faced Harry. They all watched as he closed his eyes while it began to change shape. Several screams filled the classroom as the boggart took the shape of a massive troll that roared and swung its club around before rapidly changing shape once more into an equally large three-headed dog that snarled and barked at him, before once more changing into a pile of roots and tendrils that made many people scratch their heads in confusion except for Neville, Ron, and Hermione. Finally, the boggart turned itself into a ten-foot tall statue of an armored woman with a sword, poised to strike, and before it or Harry could move, Professor Lupin threw himself in between the two, causing the boggart to change shape once more into a large, glowing silver disk which Lupin promptly turned into a yellow balloon and banished back into the cupboard.

"Well, I think that's enough for today, don't you think?"

"Wow, Potter, I didn't know someone could be afraid of so many things that even a boggart couldn't decide what to turn into," Malfoy jeered as they all walked out into the hall. Harry didn't say anything, but he did watch as Hermione stormed up to him and slapped him across the face before rushing over and wrapping Harry in a tight hug that made him stiffen unconsciously.

After that, Ron and Hermione remained by Harry's side for the rest of the week, and while he was exceedingly happy that the rift that had formed between the three of them had mended somewhat, he couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed as they attempted to convince him to come down to the Halloween feast.

"But Harry, it's a mandatory celebration," Hermione argued. "You can't just skip it."

"Besides, mate, I bet some food will help you feel better," Ron added.

"Look, I get that you two mean well, but today has a much different meaning to me than it does others," Harry replied. "I just need to be alone."

Eventually, Hermione and Ron agreed and left him behind in the Gryffindor common room. He could already feel Nightfire calling to be let out, but knew he had to wait until Severus and Daphne left the Great Hall to do anything. Sirius had even volunteered to join him as he and Harry's father had with Remus every month. Harry had been touched by the offer and accepted immediately. He watched on the map as Severus and Daphne left the Great Hall, and threw on his invisibility cloak. He ran down the stair to the Entrance Hall, and sent out his small signal to let Severus and Daphne know he was here before throwing his cloak over her too. Already he could feel Nightfire reacting to Daphne's presence as her smell made his head feel slightly foggy, while the feeling of her magic next to him made a quiet rumbling begin in his chest. Daphne giggled as she heard Harry's reaction to her presence, and felt it through their bond. She had been trying to find a way to thank him for helping her with facing down her boggart, but she could just never seem to find the right words. It didn't help that Harry seemed to have completely moved on from the events of that particular class, including the odd phenomenon involving his boggart constantly changing shape while he faced it down with a look of determination on his face.

Something in her had roared to follow Granger's lead when she slapped Malfoy after his failed attempt to goad Harry. Despite what Malfoy thought, she was the one with the actual connection to whatever Harry was feeling, and could tell that while his boggart was shifting from between a variety of things that would have been enough to cause most adult wizards to turn tail and run, there had barely been a single trace of fear within him. It felt to her more like he was simply startled by the cavalcade of monsters, as his reactions were minor at best, and quickly controlled. In fact, the most prevalent feeling that he was projecting had actually come from the beast that he was struggling not to turn into as they made their way towards the Forbidden Forest. With each new form the boggart took, it had felt like Nightfire was roaring in defiance. As if Harry's animal half was aware of his ability to face such monstrosity and come out victorious.

They had made it to the clearing and were speaking Sirius when Harry froze. He had been spending his time fighting the urge to transform, and had been doing so for the last hour or so. It was clear that it was taking its toll, as he was clearly acting more like Nightfire, particularly in his affection for and protectiveness of Daphne, much to her embarrassment (and secretly glee, but she shoved that feeling down, increasing her embarrassment with herself for enjoying it). He had also slowly been losing his ability to form complex thoughts. He had started to refer to her as his human, while Professor Snape and Sirius were human-friend and man-dog respectively. They suspected that it was only a matter of minutes before he finally succumbed to the transformation, but Daphne couldn't help but be impressed with the progress he had already made in just a month. They watched as he sniffed the air before staring into the trees surrounding them, just outside the wards Sirius and Severus had put in place. His eyes narrowed as he watched the space between the trees, and he pulled Daphne closer to his chest as his lips pulled back into a snarl and a low rumbling that no human should have been able to produce rose up from his chest.

"What is it?" Daphne asked quietly.

"Wolf-man," Harry growled. "Smells man-dog. Must be fighting change too."

Daphne raised an eyebrow in confusion, more questions than ever racing through her mind as Professor Snape and Sirius shot to their feet and pointed their wands towards where Harry was looking. She gasped when out of the woods stumbled Professor Lupin, scratches covering his face, and his clothes in tatters as he ambled into the clearing.

"Moony," Sirius asked cautiously, his voice deliberately calm. "What are you doing outside the Shack?"

"Smelled you," Lupin growled, his voice containing the same inhuman quality Harry's did. "You killed them. Must hunt traitor Padfoot!"

"Human-friend, run!" Harry snarled as Lupin started to snarl and moan while the sound of bones breaking and joints popping filled the air. "Daphne stay with me, man-dog keep him busy!"

Daphne couldn't help but watch, petrified, as Professor Lupin changed. His clothes tore and his skin ripped while his body grew and changed shape until standing where he stood was a terrifying cross between beast and man. It had the general shape of a wolf, but stood almost eight feet tall on its hind legs as it sniffed the air curiously. Sirius had changed into his own canine form, and leapt at the werewolf just as it turned its attention on Daphne. Unfortunately, despite Sirius being a fair bit larger than the average dog, it was clear that his time in prison and on the run had not been kind to him as he was clearly emaciated and weak. He attempted to distract Lupin, but posed no challenge as the werewolf picked him up with his clawed hands, eliciting a whimper from Sirius as the claws dug into his side before hurling him at a nearby tree.

Daphne screamed as the black dog smacked into the tree not ten feet from her and dropped limply to the ground. Her voice died in her throat, though, when Lupin suddenly turned his attention on her, slowly approaching as he sniffed the air. She wanted to turn tail and run, but part of her was screaming that any sudden moves would set him, while another quietly reassured her that Harry was just behind her and would keep her safe.

As if summoned by her thoughts, there was a quiet whooshing as something soared over her head and Nightfire landed in between her and Lupin. Lupin snarled and barked as he loomed over Nightfire, but the majestic chimera was unfazed he raised his own head and released a low growl. Lupin did not seem to appreciate another creature challenging him, and snarled as he lowered himself and bared his teeth before raising his head and unleashing a bone chilling howl.

Nightfire remained unmoved as he crouched lower and simply bared his teeth, his rumbling growl seeming to shake the ground beneath their feet as he warned the werewolf of what would happen if it challenged him. In a blur of movement the two beasts sprang at each other, and while Lupin had the advantage of height and not having to defend anything, Nightfire was a combination of two of the greatest predators in the world. His skin was impervious to Lupin's claws, and his bulk allowed him to shrug off blows that would have normally broken bones. Unfortunately for Lupin, he was not as resistant as Nightfire's long claws easily rent through flesh, leaving four long gashes along Lupin's chest before a paw the size of a frying pan slammed across his face, sending the werewolf spiraling away several feet. Nightfire watched as Lupin shakily rose to his feet, and when Lupin released another howl that would make even the strongest of creatures shake in fear before running as fast as they could, Nightfire seemed to see it only as a challenge to his role as the strongest creature in the area. Along with the feelings of territoriality, Daphne could sense other base feelings coming from Nightfire through their bond, and surmised that he seemed to see this as his first test as her protector as well, and was not about to run for any reason.

As the last echoes of the howl died in the night air, Nightfire glared at Lupin and bared his fangs as an even greater rumbling began in his chest before rising up his throat. Daphne watched in amazement as Nightfire stomped his paw on the ground and raised his head to release an earth-shattering roar as he flapped his wings and spouted a stream of flame thirty feet into the air, lighting the forest in and flooding the air with scalding heat. The flames died down after another moment, and Nightfire lowered his head to glare at Lupin, his bright green eyes glowing as magic seemed to flow off his body. Lupin struggled to maintain eye contact, but only managed to for about thirty seconds until he had to look away and lowered his head. Daphne watched with fascination as a werewolf, one of the most deadly magical creatures she knew of, lay down on the ground and roll onto his back, exposing his belly. Nightfire huffed and sauntered over to where Lupin was laying, and leaned down to lightly press his teeth to Lupin's neck before standing up and walking back over to Daphne, who kept her eyes on Lupin as he slowly rose to his feet and limped off into the woods.

Eventually a whimper from Sirius drew her attention back to the present as he slowly rose to sit against a tree trunk, once more in his human form. "That was some fight, pup," he mumbled as he cradled his chest and leaned his head back against the tree. Daphne couldn't help but agree even as Nightfire sat down in front of her and began inspecting her for injury before nudging her until she too was sitting and leaning against him. She couldn't help but giggle as he licked her face with his big, rough tongue before nuzzling her with his snout and curling up with his eyes closed, the soft sound of his purring reverberating through her as she allowed his comforting presence to lull her to sleep under the watchful eye of a known fugitive from the law.

*(OoO)*

Two weeks after the incident in the forest, Severus had yet to tell him whether Professor Lupin had confronted him, but Harry knew that he needed to capture Pettigrew more than ever. He was sitting outside, watching the dot on the map while Zephyr flew high above him, enjoying the many clouds blanketing the sky.

 _You know,_ Zephyr suggested. _I am a bird of prey. It wouldn't take much for me to simply swoop down and capture him._

 _And then once he's out of sight, he'll simply change into a human and free himself._

 _You seem to forget that I can grow as well, Young One. A human would pose no challenge to me._

 _Maybe,_ Harry conceded. _But I'm just worried that someone will be able to tell that there's a thunderbird flying around the school. So far, we've been able to pass you off as some kind of raptor, but if people see Harry Potter with a strange bird and then also see a thunderbird, which aren't supposed to be living on this side of the Atlantic, someone's going to put two and two together._

 _I would hope that even the slowest of students here at least know how to put two and two together._

Harry snorted and shook his head before turning his attention back to the map. He froze when he saw the current object of his brooding moving across the grounds near the Whomping Willow. Seeing an opportunity he directed his thoughts back to his familiar.

 _If you really want to catch him, he's by the Whomping Willow. Just make sure you stay low enough that people would obviously notice if he tried to change. Also be careful of Ron and Hermione, they're not far away, and Ron complaining about you killing his rat is not something I want to deal with._

Zephyr gave a loud caw and bolted in the direction of his newest prey while a thunderous rumbling shook the air. In less than five minutes Zephyr returned with the limp form of Scabbers clutched in his talons.

 _A tiny jolt of electricity was enough to knock him right out before he even knew what was happening._

Harry reached out and ran the back of his hand over his friend's plumage as he drew his wand with his other. He casted a quick stunning spell, followed by a body-locking jinx, and several different binding curses before pointing his wand at a nearby rock and transfiguring it into a small lock box which he placed the limp rodent inside (after making sure it wouldn't accidentally suffocate) before latching it closed and reaching into his bag and taking out his tools for inscribing runes that he had yet to return to his dorm after his class earlier that day. He quickly inscribed several different locking and security runes all along the box, taking care not to overload it, as he knew that transfigured items were less receptive to runes due to the conflicting magical forces within them.

Once he was certain that his new prisoner was secure, he reached into his bag once more and pulled out his invisibility cloak, as he had taken to keeping it there nowadays, and cast a quick silencing charm on his feet before sprinting towards the dungeon, where he had seen Severus just a couple minutes ago on the map. As he ran, his mind wandered, and he couldn't help but frown at the feeling he had gotten while casting his spells. Ever since the attack, he had felt strange whenever using his wand. His magic certainly felt stronger, and more controllable, but every time he performed a spell, there was something small that just felt… wrong.

Shaking his head of these thoughts, Harry knocked on the door to Professor Snape's office, and dashed inside when the door opened, throwing the cloak off his head once it was closed.

"I've got him!" Harry exclaimed. "I was just sitting outside with Zephyr, and I saw him on the map, and Zephyr said he could easily catch him, which I can't believe we never thought of, and I'm sure he won't let me live it down but…"

"Harry," Severus said, placing his hands on Harry's shoulders, frowning as Harry stiffened slightly and snapped his mouth shut. "Breathe."

Harry took a deep breath, and held up the box in his arms to present it to Severus. "Zephyr caught Pettigrew. He's in here."

Severus smiled proudly and took the box from Harry. "You did well, Harry. I'm proud of you."

Harry opened and closed his mouth as he tried to figure out what the appropriate reaction was before settling on chuckling sheepishly and scratching the back of his head. "I'll, uh… I'll call Tipsy. She already has the letter ready to deliver, so she can bring Sirius and deliver everything once you're done."

Severus nodded, sensing how uncomfortable Harry was with what had just happened, and watched as he left the room before opening the door into the back of his office as Sirius and Tipsy appeared.

Later that week, Harry was sitting at breakfast when Hedwig swooped through the window and landed in front of him. Harry stroked her head and fed her a piece of bacon as he untied the letter, smiling as she decided to hop up to his shoulder and sit there, attracting several confused stares from around the Great Hall, especially when Zephyr flew in and took his place on Harry's other shoulder, wrapping his long tail plumage around the back of Harry's neck as he reached up and handed his familiar a chunk of sausage. Taking note of the Ministry insignia on the seal, Harry tucked the letter into his robes for later.

"What you got there, Harry?" Neville asked, beating both Ron and Hermione to the punch.

"Just a letter concerning some family business," Harry replied. "I'll read it later."

"Fair enough," Neville said with a shrug, returning to his meal. Unfortunately, his attempt at sparing Harry any further interrogation was in vain as Hermione immediately jumped in.

"What kind of family business would you have to do?" She demanded.

Harry turned to look at her and felt a weight settle in his chest as he noticed that she was wearing her spy earrings. Once again, Neville came to his aide as he answered for Harry.

"It's rather rude in wizard society to inquire about someone's family business, Hermione."

"Please, Neville, he's thirteen, what kind of family business could he have to do?" Ron asked.

"I have to do all sorts of things for my family, and I'm thirteen," Daphne said as she suddenly appeared and sat herself down next to Harry, drawing even more stares from around the Great Hall, especially from the Slytherin Table.

"No one asked you," Ron hissed angrily.

Harry's fist clenched as he felt the animosity being directed at him and Daphne. Taking a deep breath, he grabbed his bag and stood up, smiling as Hedwig gave his ear an affectionate nip before flying back out the window. Zephyr, however, told Harry in no uncertain terms that he was going to be accompanying his familiar until the aura of danger within the school lifted.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.

"Library," Harry grunted. "Daphne's helping me with some Potions work." Without another word, he turned and stormed out of the Great Hall, Daphne, Neville, Tracey, and Blaise on his heels. He made it all the way to the second floor and was not far from the girl's bathroom when he finally registered he was being followed and whirled around to face them. He opened his mouth to shout at the people following him, but froze as he watched Neville, Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise lift their wands.

"I, Neville Francis Longbottom, do enact and adhere to the Oath of Confidence contained within the treaty bonding the Noble House of Longbottom and the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter."

"I, Blaise Zabini, do vow to maintain my silence with regards to everything concerning Harry James Potter unless I have his consent. As I will it, so mote it be."

"I, Tracey Davis, do vow to maintain my silence with regards to everything concerning Harry James Potter unless I have his consent. As I will it, so mote it be."

"I Daphne Penelope Greengrass, do enact and adhere to the Oath of Confidence contained within the treaty bonding the Noble House of Greengrass and the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter."

"What… what's going on?" Harry asked.

"We were talking a few days ago, and I accidentally let slip that you were emancipated," Daphne explained. "Neville informed me that when you first tried to enact the oath, all you did was confirm that the treaty wasn't broken. After that we all discussed it, and decided to all make the vow to keep your secrets."

The weight in Harry's chest suddenly disappeared as he now felt like he was about to burst with all the emotions running through him. He could even feel Nightfire roaring in approval in the back of his head. Rather than respond, Harry looked up and down the hall before turning back around.

"Follow me," he said quietly as he led them towards the bathroom. Opening the door, he ushered them inside, and held up a hand as Tracey was about to ask what they were doing there. Walking over to the sinks, the others watched with bated breath as he took a deep breath before a low hissing rose out of his throat. _"Open and grant me entrance."_

Stepping back, Harry almost smirked as he saw the looks on his friends' faces as the sink split apart and sunk into the ground, revealing a rather large hole. Unlike when he had ventured inside last year, there were now a spiraling set of stairs winding down the massive hole. Neville gulped and summoned all of his courage as he followed Harry down the stairs, the others coming soon after. Once the last of them were on the stairs and clear of the opening, the sinks rose back up and closed the entrance over their heads with a loud bang. For a moment they were embraced in darkness until a bright light appeared at the end of Harry's wand. He led them down to the bottom of the hole, which he had cleaned of the bones and refuse since last year, and forged ahead towards the door. Tracey yelped after another hissing command made the intricate lock open on the door with a series of bangs before it swung open silently.

Harry led the way inside the chamber and took a deep breath. He, Dobby, and Tipsy had spent a lot of time since his return to Hogwarts cleaning out the Chamber of Secrets. The water on either side of the walkway gurgled as small, clear streams of water fell from the open mouths of the stone snake heads lining the walls. The walkway itself had been raised slightly and charmed to stay dry, while the torches above the snakes were now strong enough to bathe this section of the chamber in warm orange light. The carving of Salazar Slytherin's head had taken some time, and a lot of effort, but he, Dobby, and Tipsy had managed to transfigure it into a great stone archway with massive snakes carved into it as a heavy oak door stood closed. Altogether, the Chamber of Secrets had been restored to the glory that Harry's ancestor had envisioned when he created it, and the only reminder of the battle that took place here less than six months ago was a black ink stain on the stone floor, and…

Tracey actually screamed as she entered the Chamber of Secrets, drawing the others' attention to where she was looking fearfully. Daphne's eyes widened, Blaise started shaking where he stood, and Neville whimpered as they all looked up and saw the magically preserved body of a sixty foot basilisk hanging suspended in the air. Its mouth was open in a perpetual roar of anger, and Daphne noted that one of its dagger-length teeth was missing. Whipping her gaze between Harry and the massive serpent, Daphne couldn't contain the rush of emotion as she sprinted over to him and wrapped her arms around him, making him stiffen before slowly raising his own arms and gently putting them down on her back.

"What the _fuck_ is that?!" Neville shouted, making Harry and Daphne jump apart and turn to face him.

"That was the monster within the Chamber of Secrets," Harry replied.

"How'd it die?" Blaise asked as they followed Harry towards the massive wooden door at the back of the chamber.

The others couldn't see his face, but Daphne was able to watch and feel the conflicting emotions play along Harry's face as he struggled to make himself open up to the people he considered friends. Finally after a deep breath he replied in a nonchalant tone.

"Stabbed it in the brain."

"Wait," Tracey yelled as they ran after him. " _You_ killed that thing? The rumors about you coming down here were true?"

"Would've thought that would be obvious considering where we are," Harry retorted sarcastically.

"Harry," Daphne said quietly.

Taking another deep breath he turned to face the rest of them. "Yes, I came down here last year. People were being attacked, and after Hermione was, we found out that Ron's sister had been taken here and no one was going to do anything. We had heard Lockhart bragging about knowing where the entrance was, so we went to him with what we knew, which was that the monster was a basilisk and people were being petrified because they weren't looking it directly in the eye. That's where we learned he was a fraud who stole other people's accomplishments and wiped their memories so that he could claim the glory for himself. We forced him to accompany us down here and he took Ron's wand and tried to wipe our memories, only his wand was broken and the spell backfired causing a cave in that separated us. I went ahead where I found out Ginny had been possessed by Voldemort's diary from when he was a student here. He had been the one to open the chamber the first time, and he was using Ginny to do it again before bringing her here to bring himself back to life. Voldemort released the basilisk and Dumbledore's phoenix came and pecked out its eyes while dropping the Sorting Hat which summoned the Sword of Gryffindor to me. I used that to stab it in the top of its mouth, but got one of the fangs stuck in my arm. I used the fang to destroy the diary, then the phoenix used his tears to save my life before rescuing us."

Daphne felt proud of Harry for being able to share what had happened to him, even if the mechanical way he described only the events as they happened spoke volumes about how he must have felt the entire time.

"So this is what Slytherin was going to use to kill all the muggle-borns," Blaise surmised as he looked back up at the giant serpent.

"Not muggle-borns," Harry corrected. "Muggles."

"He wanted to kill muggles?" Neville asked disbelievingly.

"When Salazar built the chamber, muggles were burning witches and wizards at the stake. People were offering up their children to be slaughtered for the offence of being born different. For having gifts that before then were revered. Salazar was afraid of what might happen if the muggles ever attacked the school and placed her here as a last line of defense. Unfortunately, after sleeping for nearly a millennia and only having the rats she ate for company, the basilisk started losing her mind, so when a mad man with a distant relation to Slytherin entered the chamber and woke her up, she obeyed him without question."

"How do you know all this?" Tracey asked.

Harry opened the doors, and led them into the deeper parts of the chamber. They passed a massive room that, judging by the snake skins and bones had housed the basilisk before its death, and followed him into what looked like a private chamber. It was arranged like the Slytherin dorms, with a fireplace burning in the corner, and a large four-poster bed sitting across from a desk surrounded with bookshelves. Walking over to the desk, Harry picked up one of the books and showed it to the others.

It was remarkably well preserved, however none of them could read a word of it as the only thing covering the pages were a series of strange squiggles.

"It's written in Parsletongue," Harry explained. "So only I can read it."

Daphne handed the book over to Neville when her attention was drawn to the fireplace where a large cauldron was sitting with something shaking inside of it. Zephyr cawed from his perch on Harry's shoulder, and Daphne barely restrained a shout of terror as he reached his hands into what revealed itself to be a pot of boiling oil.

"Are you out of your mind?!" Tracey screamed as she looked up and saw what Harry was doing. Harry ignored her and pulled his hands out of the oil. This time Daphne did yelp as she saw the large egg resting in his undamaged arms.

"Clearly somebody's been taking pages out of Hagrid's book," Neville muttered as Harry carefully placed the egg on the ground and pulled out his wand, vanishing the oil from his arms and the egg, revealing that he was covered in a layer of black fur from his hands to his shoulders.

"What are you talking about?" Daphne asked.

"First year, Hagrid tried to raise a pet dragon in his hut," Harry explained offhandedly as he casted a series of fire spells on the silvery eggshell.

"So you're going to hatch one under the school?!" Blaise demanded.

Rather than answer, Zephyr took flight from Harry's shoulder and flew over to where Blaise was standing. As he crossed the short distance, he grew to the size of a small child and a second pair of wings sprouted near the base of his tail feathers.

 _Mind your tone, human!_ A deep voice resounded in each of their heads. _You make assumption of the Young One's motives without knowing even a modicum of the truth._

"Zephyr, it's okay," Harry replied. "You and I don't know why we're doing this either."

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked, keeping in mind that the gorgeous bird on Harry's shoulder was the very embodiment of a storm.

"Thunderbirds are very old, very magical creatures," Harry explained as the egg started shaking and a crack appeared along its surface. "As such, sometimes Zephyr gets feelings from the magic around us. These feelings tell the creatures like thunderbirds what they should do in order to maintain balance around the world. We found this egg sitting deep in the back of one of my vaults and Zephyr had a feeling that I needed to raise it."

"This is starting to get a little crazy," Tracey muttered.

"You didn't think that when you saw the sixty foot snake that Potter killed with a sword through the skull?" Blaise asked sarcastically.

"Shut up!" Daphne hissed, as the egg continued to shake, and they all watched in awe as the tiny life within slowly clawed its way into the world. She watched as Harry cradled the tiny reptile and started hissing softly to it while Zephyr trilled quietly. The tiny dragon looked at him, and Daphne could feel over her bond with him that Harry was already regarding the miniscule embodiment of fire and death as his own child, just as she could feel the fraternal bond between him and Zephyr. Then she gasped as there was a sudden burst of magic and bright green light filled the chamber. When it finally faded, she nearly screamed as she finally saw that Harry was standing still, the dragon nowhere in sight and his robes on fire. Throwing off the flaming clothes, Daphne got a good look at Harry's bare chest, having not really had a chance in the dim light of early morning after his first transformation into Nightfire. It took everything she had to shut down her reaction to the collection of scars covering his back, while a tattoo of a small, silver dragon curled around his torso, its head resting right near the scars on his neck from the attack in June. He quickly repaired his robes and threw them over his head before anyone else had a chance to see or ask questions.

"Well, that was interesting," he surmised as he took off his glasses and looked at them all with glowing green eyes.

Harry spent the rest of that night explaining to his friends as best he could what was going on, filling them in on what Daphne knew, before relaying what Zephyr said as he took over and elaborated that the infant dragon had bonded as Harry's true familiar, whereas the thunderbird now knew that he was here to act as a guide for Harry. The dragon, whose name was Kyddris, according to Harry, would be bonded to Harry on a magical level, accompanying him through life and serving as his friend and protector. Daphne couldn't help but draw parallels between what Harry told them, and what she had been told concerning her bond with Nightfire, and by extension Harry himself. She was aware that every wizard and witch had the potential to find their own familiar, and had read stories about great heroes that had animal guides, but now that she was faced with a real life example of what was starting to sound like a fairy tale, she could hardly believe what she was seeing and hearing.

Harry was in the middle of explaining what was going on to them and trying to figure out what his next move was, when he and Zephyr seemingly froze, a fog falling over his glowing green eyes.

" _Two kings do wage war unending,_

 _Through peace and time and death,_

 _Secret battles unrelenting,_

 _King of Black,_

 _King of White,_

 _Their fate held in sparkling knight,_

 _While Black is young and would see knight slain,_

 _White's age and pride treat him as another pawn in the fight,_

 _But if Knight doth become a king,_

 _A second Avalon the world over he shall bring._

 _Together, boy and dragon both will grow,_

 _To protect both world and treasure from seeds of pain,_

 _That opposing forces attempt to sow,_

 _Though control of both the treasure's gained,_

 _Neither Man nor Living Soul can be aware,_

 _For if his Heart he does question,_

 _What once was balance will be despair._

 _Faith in what treasure's heart doth feel,_

 _Neither spell, potion, nor bond deceives,_

 _What time together will reveal,_

 _And no magic stronger can be perceived,_

 _Power to burn the world asunder,_

 _Rests with she who holds the heart,_

 _Of Hero, Monster, Friend of Thunder._

 _Though beast within creates a bond,_

 _And to treasure's years it does restrain,_

 _When time has come and deed is done,_

 _In the end they begin again,_

 _Man, Soul, and Heart become as one,_

 _To forevermore protect where it begun."_

Harry closed his mouth and the light returned to his eyes before he suddenly collapsed to the ground.

"Harry!" Daphne cried as she ran over and crouched by his side. She tried shaking him and calling his name, panicking slightly until she was struck by a sudden idea. "Dobby! Dobby, please, Harry needs your help!" With a pop the small house elf appeared in the chamber and yelped at the sight of Harry lying unconscious with his head in Daphne's lap. Tears swam in his large eyes and Daphne started to shout orders before he had a chance to shed a single one. "Dobby, I need you to find Professor Snape and bring him here. If there's anyone else around, tell him that there has been a potions accident in the dungeon."

Dobby nodded and vanished while Daphne called Neville and Blaise over to help lift Harry onto the bed on the other side of the room. When Dobby returned with Severus, they each took turns explaining what had happened while he examined Harry.

"It sounds like he made a prophecy," Severus said quietly.

 _It was no ordinary prophecy,_ Zephyr's deep voice resonated in each of their minds. _The Young One has no seer blood in his veins._

"Then what just had happened?" Blaise demanded.

 _It would seem that magic itself used my ward as a mouthpiece. The difference between this and a regular prophecy being the existence of multiple outcomes,_ Zephyr explained. _If we are to understand what we just heard to pertain to Harry and the hatchling, then neither of them can know what just happened. We cannot risk it tainting him with the notion of predetermined outcomes, nor can we voice whatever it is that would potentially send him into despair. Everything he has done since he and I met has been under the presumption that he was the master of his own destiny, and that the path he walks is his own choice. We cannot take that foundation away from him._

Immediately, Daphne pulled out her wand and led by example as she swore her second vow of silence of the day. This time swearing to keep a secret from the boy she had just hours ago sworn to always keep his own. The others followed suit, with Severus promising he would and extracting the memory from Daphne so that he could hear the prophecy verbatim.

"What Zephyr said seems to be true," Severus observed as he returned to looking over Harry. "He seems to show signs of a remarkable amount of foreign magic invading his body and briefly taking control. He should be fine soon."

"What did it mean by the beast within creating a bond?" Tracey asked.

"I'll explain later," Daphne said as she watched Harry look the most relaxed and at peace she had ever seen him in the short two months that she had known him.


	6. Chapter 6

"So, what kind of dragon is Kyddris?" Blaise asked as he, Tracey, Daphne, and Neville sat together in the Three Broomsticks.

It was the last Hogsmeade weekend before the winter break, and Harry was still stuck back at the school, presumably training with Professor Snape. The letter he had received the day they had entered the Chamber of Secrets had apparently been from the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, stating that while the testimony of Pettigrew himself, whom Severus had provided along with the memory of him administering Verritaserum to both the rat and Sirius and questioning them himself through Tipsy. They had been lucky that Madam Bones had recognised both Tipsy and the Potter seal on the accompanying letter Harry had written, otherwise they probably never would have even gotten the case looked at. Unfortunately, not only had Madam Bones informed them that Wormtail had escaped, likely with the help of someone on the inside, but she had also stated that, while officially a free man, the case of Sirius Black had been buried under so much bureaucracy that no one would ever actually hear about the change, which basically meant that the orders for him to receive the Dementor's Kiss on sight had been removed, and the media would steadily stop spreading their fear-mongering in regards to him being on the loose, aurors would probably still try to attack and arrest him on sight, which considering the theory that they had enemies in law enforcement, meant that there was the very real possibility of Sirius being 'accidentally' killed should he show his face in public.

"Harry said that he was a Ukrainian Ironbelly," Neville replied. "Susan helped him look it up a couple of weeks ago."

"So, he's started hanging around with the Bones girl?" Tracey asked teasingly. "Better watch out Daphne, with _assets_ like hers at our age, you might just lose your lapdog."

"No, I won't," Daphne replied calmly as she took a sip of her drink. She had told Tracey and Blaise the details of Harry's bond to her after making them vow never to share it either, and while they both liked to tease her in private, Daphne could see that both of them were incredibly sorry for the curse the boy who had slowly become one of their best friends in the course of a single semester was burdened with.

"Speak of the devil," Blaise mumbled as Susan made her way over to their table.

"Do you all mind if I join you?" She asked shyly.

"Not at all!" Neville suddenly exclaimed, his face bright red as he stood up and offered her his seat next to Daphne before sliding back into the booth as well.

"I stand corrected," Tracey muttered, drawing a chuckle from Daphne.

"What's up, Bones?" Blaise asked casually as he leaned back and took a large swig of his drink.

"You four are friends of Harry Potter's, right?" Susan asked.

"Why do you ask?" Daphne questioned, cursing herself internally for how quickly she would become defensive when it came to Harry and the way Tracey grinned knowingly.

"This might sound weird, but I kind of wanted to do something for him," Susan said. "He's been so sweet helping me with my Charms work all year, and I noticed that he sometimes gets this really sad look on his face."

"So you've taken it upon yourself to save him from the depths of depression?" Daphne asked coolly.

"When I first had this idea, maybe," Susan admitted sadly. "But that changed after I watched him with Weasley and Granger."

"Yeah the fights between him and those two have grown to become legendary," Neville said with a shake of his head.

"I knew they had all grown distant over the last semester, but I had no idea it had gotten that bad," Blaise said guiltily.

"The worst part is his face afterward."

"What do you mean?" Tracey asked.

"Every time he gets in a fight with one of them, it always ends the same way," Neville explained. "The one he's fighting with storms off angrily, and Harry just sort of stands there for a few seconds. Normally it's pretty hard to tell exactly what he's feeling, he's kind and friendly, but you can sort of tell that there's more going on behind the scenes that he's not telling you about. But every time he watches Ron or Hermione storm off, there are a few seconds where you can see how much pain he's in before he gets his control back."

"He never says anything about it," Tracey muttered. "I'm sure if he told us what was wrong, we could help him with them."

"Of course he doesn't," Daphne replied. "So long as he's not dead, Harry will _always_ tell you he's fine if you ask. On top of his _many_ trust issues, I get the feeling that he doesn't quite know how to navigate his own feelings. Shutting them down and clearing his mind is the only way he knows how to handle things like that. Professor Snape said that's part of why he's so talented at Occlumency, because he can retreat into his head and take control of his emotions on command."

"Plus, I'm pretty sure we'd only make things worse if we got involved," Blaise added.

"Why's that?" Susan asked.

"Because Daphne, Tracey, and I in particular are one of the things that he fights with them about."

"He's right," Neville agreed. "Most of his arguments with Ron involve him defending you three, while Hermione makes accusations that you must be doing something to him if he trusts you three enough to tell you things he won't tell them."

"I didn't know that he defended us like that," Tracey mumbled, her respect for Harry rising. They knew he had taken to passive aggressively defending them from their fellow Slytherins in the halls through random declarations that he would be there in heartbeat for any of them with Dumbledore on his heels if they ever needed him, timed perfectly so that the more threatening of their housemates just happened to be walking by within earshot, as well as making an effort to subtly show that his relationship with Professor Snape had improved, consistently putting his best efforts into his Potions classes and securely holding the top position in class for several weeks in a row, and letting them know that not even Snape would protect them from. But to hear that he was actively and publicly defending them against the two people who were supposed to be his best friends was a testament to his character that none of them could have predicted, though they all felt guilty for not expecting it.

"There's a reason those three were basically attached at the hip first and second year," Neville continued. "I overheard one of their arguments a few days ago and Harry called Ron and Hermione his _first_ and best friends. It's no secret that the muggles he lives with are detestable, so I wouldn't be surprised if he actually meant that he had never had any friends before he met Ron on the train. After the troll in first year, the three of them bonded, and that bond only grew stronger through the rest of their adventures. I can only imagine that Harry feels terrible because he doesn't want to lose the first two people who considered him as a friend, but at the same time knows that he can't just roll over for them."

Daphne couldn't help but think back to the many times Harry would change the subject of conversation because one of his senses had picked up Granger coming within range to use the earrings that he had yet to overload. Near as she could tell, he simply wasn't able to muster the resolve to cause Granger even the slightest amount of pain, and after what Neville had shared, she was pretty sure that he thought that doing that would be symbolic of their friendship going past the point of no return. Personally, she thought that it had already gone far beyond that point. She could still remember the look on his face and the feeling as their bond, though still weak at the time, flooded her with the heartbreak and betrayal he felt at the realisation that one of his best friends would go so far as to not only spy on him, but create a device that would record what he said so as to share it with whomever she chose.

"You're rather insightful, Neville," Susan observed, prompting Neville to sport a blush that rivalled the Gryffindor red on his scarf.

The peaceful atmosphere around their table was shattered as another trio of Slytherins walked up to their table.

"Aww would you look at this?" Malfoy drawled. "Are you three giving Longbottom dating advice? Be careful Longbottom, all Zabini's ever learned about relationships involves sleeping your way into some wealthy old man's will and killing him in his sleep."

"At least Blaise would know how to make someone feel good," Daphne shot back. "Tell me, Draco, does Pansy enjoy your heated attempts to fit her entire face in your mouth, or is it just the idea of being a part of _your_ will that helps her endure your tongue being shoved down her throat."

"I'd mind your tone, Greengrass," Malfoy growled lowly. "You may have bitten the bullet and become Potter's whore to gain you a little bit of protection in the school, but he's not here right now."

"Aww, it's cute that you think I would possibly find you and your two trained gorillas intimidating," Daphne cooed mockingly, slipping her wand out of her robes under the table. "Have you taught them any tricks, or do they just know how to follow you around waiting for a banana?"

"You might not be afraid of me," Malfoy countered. "But I was there when we all saw what you do fear. You know, I was thinking of inviting you over to the mansion over the break. Should my father speak to yours, or should I send him the invitation personally?"

Ice spread through Daphne's veins at Malfoy's implication, and she was a second away from freezing when she felt Harry's emotions through their bond. Nightfire was roaring for her to fight back and hold on until he could find her while Harry was sending as many comforting feelings of support as he could while fighting with whether or not he should try to stun Professor Snape and fly over to her in a rain of fire and rage. Settling her emotions and sending a pulse of gratitude back to Harry, Daphne reinforced her icy mask and stood up, staring Malfoy down.

"Thank you for the generous offer, Draco," she said coolly. "But I and my father would be beyond honoured to host your family instead. I would just love to speak with your father myself. I'm sure he would have _so much_ to teach me."

Draco Malfoy may not have been the brightest among Slytherin House, but even he could see the veiled threat hidden behind her words, even if Blaise and Tracey, neither of whom partook in pureblood society the way she had to, couldn't. Unlike her, Malfoy's face paled and took a step back before recomposing his face into his trademark scowl and storming off.

"Umm, what just happened?" Tracey asked.

"Malfoy threatened Daphne with telling her father, who follows an ideology more closely aligned with his own, what she's been up to, and Daphne retaliated with a similar threat that she would tell Malfoy's father all about how she has Harry, and by extension Dumbledore wrapped around her finger, before asking him what she should do next. Which would win her the respect of Malfoy's father while making Malfoy look bad as he hasn't done anything of note this year except nearly get sliced to ribbons by a hippogriff with a bruised ego," Neville explained.

"Damn, Neville, I didn't know you were so politically savvy," Blaise said with a low whistle.

"House Longbottom is the oldest of the Noble Houses in Magical Britain and only a few generations and exceptional accomplishments away from being addressed as an Ancient House. My grandmother made sure that I knew almost everything about the other Noble Houses, and how to deconstruct double speak before I even started at Hogwarts. Of course, it wasn't until recently that I've even had the confidence to put it to any use."

"Man, I hate this whole medieval-high-society crap that we're all caught in," Tracey complained.

"Stick with me and Harry and it will either get better or much worse," Daphne said jokingly.

"That's promising."

*(OoO)*

The day before the beginning of winter break saw Harry sitting in the Clock Tower looking out through the window at the snow falling gently on the ground. He wished he could go back to Potter Manor to spend Christmas with Sirius, but with so few students staying over the break, the wards within the castle would be even more focused than before on the few students remaining behind. And with the dementors still roaming around the school, Dumbledore was more attentive than ever. Luckily, he had Zephyr and Kyddris to keep him company while his friends left for the holidays, and Severus had promised to help him train over the break, so it wouldn't be a complete loss. His progress with the Patronus Charm had increased significantly already, and while he was unable to find a positive emotion strong enough to give his Patronus shape, he had more than enough power to erect a shield strong enough to hold a dementors off long enough to escape.

 _"What's wrong?"_ Kyddris asked as he raised his head from where it was laying on Harry's lap.

 _"Nothing,"_ Harry hissed softly, stroking his dragon underneath his chin. He had at first been leery of what Zephyr had meant when he told Harry that Kyddris was his true familiar, but less than a day with the baby dragon and Harry felt a bond between them that was stronger than anything. Whereas Zephyr felt like a close friend, to the point of Harry considering him part of the strange little family consisting of himself, Tipsy, Dobby, Zephyr, and Griphook, Kyddris felt almost like an extension of Harry himself. Whether he was hidden as a tattoo along Harry's torso, or physically sitting with him, Harry could always get a sort of impression of how Kyddris was feeling, not unlike how he sometimes felt what Daphne did due to her emotions being keyed to the empathic abilities of Nightfire. Alternatively, Harry knew the same was true for Kyddris, as he reacted to Harry's feelings, and, strangely, to Daphne's as well, on occasion.

His sullen brooding was broken by a pop and he looked away from the window to see Tipsy standing before him, holding the arm of Griphook.

"Griphook!" Harry exclaimed happily. "What are you doing here?"

"Lord Black informed me when I arrived at your home that you were unable to leave Hogwarts due to the increase of the wards' potency while most of the student population was away."

"Yeah, it pretty much adds up to me not having an excuse to get on the train. I might still be able to come back for a few hours Christmas Day, but I wouldn't want to risk Dumbledore finding out that I've left the school. News still hasn't come out about Sirius' innocence, and because of that he's probably going to try and keep a close eye on me."

"I am truly sorry to hear that," Griphook replied. "But all is not lost. I come bearing good news."

"I could certainly use some of that right about now," Harry commented.

"I have gone through the laws of the Ministry of Magic and Wizengamot of this country, as well as the laws and regulations for the International Confederation of Wizards, and it would seem your initial hunch was correct. Though it would most certainly be frowned upon and met with a great amount of outrage, there is nothing explicitly stating that we cannot go through with our plans."

"Excellent," Harry said, already going through the mental checklist for this aspect of his plans for the future. "And Ragnok approves?"

"He does," Griphook replied. "He said that he would be honoured to support you in this venture."

"And you've made sure that it can't be traced back to me?"

"The details of our work at Gringotts is completely confidential," Griphook reassured him. "Even without counting the hubris of the wizarding elite, there is no trail that can connect me to you. Have you considered who you would like to join me?"

"I was thinking about having Tipsy do it," Harry said thoughtfully. "But we already know Madam Bones would recognise her, and I can't be sure of her loyalty yet. Do you think we should bring in a second goblin?"

"While that could certainly work, and I know without a doubt that many of my fellow goblins would be honoured to take the position, it may be wiser to find the help of another non-human race."

"Any suggestions?"

"I was led to believe that there was a herd of centaurs within the grounds, are there not?"

"You think they would help?" Harry asked. "Last time I met any centaurs, they made it pretty clear that they weren't interested in human affairs."

"It can't hurt to try," Griphook countered. "Either way, perhaps it would be best to wait until after I initially make my appearance. Despite their heightened intelligence, your Ministry still considers centaurs as beast, albeit at their own behest, so perhaps it would be wiser to start with me, as the Goblin Liaison Office insures that we are at least treated like more than working beasts. That will set a precedent, and allow us time to build a legal defense should the centaurs accept, and if not, will pave the way for a second goblin to join me."

"Alright, thanks for telling me this, Griphook," Harry said gratefully. "I've missed our training sessions over the past few months."

"Worry not, Harry, soon summer will be here, and I will humiliate you in combat once more," Griphook replied, smiling widely and showing off his pointed teeth.

"Enjoy it while you can," Harry shot back. "Because before you know it, I'm gonna be the one standing over you."

"I look forward to it." And with another series of pops, Tipsy reappeared and left with Griphook, leaving Harry in a decidedly better mood.

*(OoO)*

It took mere moments after the first of the students returned from the break for the discussion about what had happened dominated every conversation in the school. During the first meeting of the Wizengamot of the New Year, members were shocked to see a seat that had long sat empty filled once again. Representing the Most Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin was none other than the _goblin_ Griphook. This sparked outrage throughout the magical community as Griphook, with the support of the King Ragnok, smoothly argued his case for being the legitimate choice as proxy for the Lord Slytherin, presenting an infallible case to the other members of the Wizengamot, and even showing that he had a signed and sealed letter from King Ragnok and the Lord Slytherin himself, which Amelia Bones, Cornelius Fudge, and Albus Dumbledore all confirmed was real. The letter and Griphook both stated that as per the laws governing the Wizengamot and the ICW, there was no explicit rule stating that the lord or lady of a house may not choose a non-human as their proxy to participate in their stead. The shock was compounded by the fact that it was a newly revealed lord of House _Slytherin_ that would assign a goblin as his proxy, and the outrage and denial of what so many in the Wizengamot believed about the family of a man who had been a cornerstone of their own sociopolitical ideologies had sparked calls for the laws to be changed in that instant.

Unfortunately for them, with the help of Ragnok, Harry and Griphook had been able to manipulate the circumstances so as to ensure that the consequences of removing Griphook after he had already been granted the position of proxy by the Lord Slytherin would be too great for the politically-minded Dumbledore, or the cowardly Fudge to even consider. Harry took particular pleasure in watching Griphook calmly explain to Lucius Malfoy that what he proposed would constitute an insult to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Slytherin, as well as the entirety of the Goblin Nation, who just might be so infuriated with the arrogance of wizards that they would decide it was high time to reconsider their alliance with the wizarding world. This immediately brought down international pressure upon Fudge, as the other members of the Wizengamot who held seats within the ICW knew that other nations would take kindly to one country threatening the existence of a global banking system.

Suffice to say, the only option that remained was to allow Griphook to stay. As Harry predicted, though, the uphill battle only began from there. The _Daily Prophet_ started issuing a multi-issue piece that aimed to inform the public about what they needed to know concerning goblin-kind, and presented them as ruthless, greedy creatures who could think of nothing other than accumulating as much gold as possible, while also reminding the masses about the dark history behind the name of Slytherin. The other challenge came from Dumbledore, who had taken to subtly trying to manipulate Griphook onto his side, but it wasn't just their friendship that had led Harry to choosing Griphook to be his Slytherin proxy.

"You really know how to shake things up, don't you?" Daphne asked as she joined Harry in the library after the first dinner of the semester.

"You have no idea," Harry answered.

"I like to think I have a vague understanding. My mother had to take me and my sister home from our winter cottage a week early because my father has been in a violent rage ever since Griphook made his appearance."

"Are you alright?" Harry asked, guilt gripping his stomach at the idea of his plans putting Daphne in danger.

"I'm better than alright," Daphne replied. "He's off balance now. It won't take much for him to slip up and me to have him thrown out."

"Your compassion never fails to warm my heart, Sunshine," Harry said facetiously.

Daphne giggled and gave him a light shove. Harry laughed and poked her in the side, but froze when Hermione entered the library. Spotting them, she came over and sat down across from them.

"There you are, Harry," Hermione said exasperatedly. "I've been looking everywhere for you."

"You just saw me at dinner," Harry noted.

"I know, but it struck me that you might want some help with Runes before our first class back tomorrow."

"You do know that you and he are neck and neck for the top of the class, right?" Daphne asked.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't help my friend," Hermione answered coolly.

"Thanks, Hermione, but I don't need any help," Harry said, standing up. "I already finished the project we had been assigned over the break a week ago." Turning to Daphne, he forced a smile on his face and gave her shoulder a squeeze. "I'll see you later, Sunshine."

Daphne and Hermione watched as he hurried out of the library, before Daphne turned to glare at Hermione.

"You're pushing him away, you know."

"Really?" Hermione asked. "Because from where I'm sitting, it seems more like he's being _pulled_ away."

"Oh, you absolute genius, you figured it out!" Daphne preened mockingly. "Trace, Blaise, and I got together with Longbottom and Bones to secretly plan on dragging him away from the light so that we could corrupt him. We even casted the Imperius Curse on you and Weasley to make you both act like complete prats and constantly start arguments."

"Very funny," Hermione countered. "But I can tell when my best friend's being manipulated. Ever since he met you, he's been acting different."

"Why? Because he's finally decided to embrace who he is and come out of his shell?"

"He hasn't come out of his shell!" Hermione hissed. "If anything he's become even more closed off then when I first met him. Nowadays he won't tell me or Ron anything!"

"Maybe he just doesn't trust you," Daphne offered.

"Oh, and he trusts _you_? He's known Ron and me for two years! Why wouldn't he trust us?"

"It might have something to do with Weasley constantly insulting three of his friends because of where the Sorting Hat placed us first year," Daphne suggested. "Then again, I'm pretty sure those aren't helping your case either." She pointed lazily at the spy earrings that Hermione was still wearing, and fought down a smirk as she gasped and flushed at being caught.

"I'm worried about him," Hermione pleaded. "I thought if I could find out what it is that's changed about him, I could take it to..."

"Who? McGonagall? Dumbledore?" Daphne interrupted. "The people who _left_ him with those muggles in the first place?" Hermione gaped as she tried to formulate a response, but Daphne didn't even give her a chance. "You know he's been aware of those pathetic earrings since the day you started wearing them, right? He avoids you because he worries about someone finding out about him _through_ you. You betrayed his trust and questioned his judgement every time you insisted that he didn't know what was best for him, and that only you and Weasley were worthy of being his friends. Think about that the next time you try to spy on him."

Having gotten that off her chest, Daphne rose to her feet and stormed off towards her common room, determined to sleep off her foul mood before seeing Harry again.

Much to her consternation, the rest of the week proved that her little rant in the library had not fazed Hermione. If anything, Daphne felt guilty about losing her cool as both Dumbledore and McGonagall seemed to have taken to paying closer attention to Harry –who didn't help his case by having Zephyr return to riding around everywhere on his shoulder –and by extension they started keeping an eye on her, Tracey, and Blaise as well. Thankfully, Neville and Susan were usually there as well to act as buffers, probably reassuring the two Professors that she and her fellow snakes were being kept in check. Through it all, Harry had been infuriatingly forgiving. She had apologized to him a couple days after her argument with Hermione, stating that it was because she lost her cool that Harry was suddenly being more closely scrutinized, and while she had felt a momentary spark of anger through their bond, it quickly evaporated and he simply smiled and thanked her for standing up for him like that. By the time February rolled around, they had moved passed it, readjusting their plans with the help of Professor Snape to better avoid detection, and spending more and more time in the Chamber of Secrets, which some preliminary exploration revealed that there were other entrances around the school.

It was the first Hogsmeade Weekend of the year, and the school was almost completely devoid of everyone third year and above as the idea of spending Valentine's Day outside the school appealed to everyone after a month back at the school. Daphne decided to stay behind, wanting to hang out with Harry and avoid the many boys who were still trying to get a last minute date with her. Harry had been shifting between finding the situation hilarious, and growling as Nightfire grew weary of so many other males trying to take her away from him.

"Hey, Sunshine, fancy a romantic walk in the monster infested forest?" Harry's voice appeared next to her ear as she walked through the halls just after lunch time. She rolled her eyes at the stupid nickname that he had taken to using for her more and more often, especially after she had expressed her distaste for it, despite their bond telling him that she secretly, deep, _deep_ down kind of, sort of liked the idea of having a nickname specifically for someone else.

"How could any girl possibly say no to a walk through the most dangerous place in the school with a disembodied voice for company?" Daphne asked sarcastically. "And on Valentine's Day too? Be still my beating heart!"

Harry chuckled and removed his cloak, dramatically bowing and linking his arm with hers as he led her down to the forest. She listened as he told her about how he had spent his Christmas with Hagrid and Buckbeak, the hippogriff from their first Care for Magical Creatures class, before having Tipsy sneak him back to Potter Manor for a second dinner with her, Sirius, Dobby, and Griphook, while Zephyr started to teach Kyddris how to fly. The newly hatched dragon had already reached the size of a large dog, and weighed nearly a hundred pounds, judging by the force with which he tackled Harry and Daphne when he could finally come out of his hiding place as a sort of magical tattoo on Harry's torso.

"So why are we here, anyway?" Daphne asked.

"I thought you might enjoy joining me as I take a look into the next part of my plan that Griphook and I started over the break," Harry answered vaguely.

"You thought correctly," Daphne said giddily. "What exactly does this plan entail?"

"It's twofold. The first part involves taking certain actions using my other family names that will shake things up. That way, by the time I turn fifteen and take my Potter Lordship away from Dumbledore, I'll enter the political sphere with the sum reputations of several different big players, as well as what I'll gain when it's revealed that I've been the one behind it all. The second part of the plan is a lot less selfish. Ever since the attack, I've learned more and more about how broken the magical system of government is, at least here. By having Griphook be the proxy for House Slytherin, it undermines a lot of the darker pureblood rhetoric, while firmly pushing goblins closer to being considered equals with wand-carriers. I don't think anybody should be able to just declare that they are the better than others simply because they're human and the others aren't."

"So, what does this trip into the forest have to do with your utopian vision for a new world order?" Daphne asked teasingly. Even as she asked it, she couldn't help but think back to earlier in the year and the strange prophecy that Harry had relayed that was apparently made by magic itself.

 _A second Avalon the world over he shall bring_

If Harry was in fact the knight being referred to in the prophecy, then there was a very real chance that if anybody could usher in a new age of magical equality, it would be him.

"You'll see," Harry replied, bringing her back to the present. They walked in silence as Harry sniffed the air, seemingly on the trail of something as he had even turned into Nightfire at one point to get a better idea of where to go. Eventually he led them into a clearing much larger than the one they tended to use during the full moon. Harry pulled her into the middle of the clearing and they waited tensely as the air hung thickly around them.

Several minutes of oppressive silence passed before the sound of a twig snapping through the trees made Daphne jump. Harry took a small step in front of her as the snapping twig was followed by the sound of distant thumping. The thumping grew louder and louder, and Harry gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as he took a quick sniff of the air and turned towards a random part of the treeline.

"It's good to see you again, Firenze."

The thudding, which had grown louder than ever suddenly stopped, and Daphne could feel dozens of eyes watching them as the foliage where Harry was staring rustled and a soft clopping sound thumped through the air. Out of the trees came the bare, muscled torso of a strikingly handsome man with long, white-blond hair and astonishingly blue eyes that almost glowed in the low light of the forest floor. As he moved towards them, the source of the clopping became clear as it was revealed that his lower body was that of a horse, his waist connecting to it where one would normally find the base of the horse's neck. His horse half was a warm chestnut brown, with thick corded muscles and large powerful hooves.

"Harry Potter," the centaur, Firenze, said, nodding his head in greeting. "It is rare for humans to locate the meeting grounds of our herd, even by accident. To have seemingly found us on purpose, and brought another with you, is nigh on unheard of."

"I seem to have a knack for accomplishing things that I shouldn't," Harry replied easily. "I can assure you that both of us haven't come with any intention of harming you or your herd." Suddenly his pupils grew in the low light, and Daphne noted that his eyes, too, seemed to be glowing as his hair grew shaggier and his teeth lengthened. "That being said, if a single arrow comes anywhere near Daphne, you and your herd _will_ be introduced to the latest alpha predator to claim this forest."

Sweat dripped down the back of Daphne's neck as Harry and Firenze stared into each other's eyes in a silent battle of wills before Firenze finally closed his eyes and shook his head with a smile.

"You continue to present an enigma, Harry Potter," Firenze said good-naturedly. "Never before have I met a human, let alone a child, who embodied a combination of such radically different aspects. Tell me, what have you come to speak with us about."

"I wanted to make an offer with the centaurs, and you in particular," Harry began.

"Oh, and what would you have to offer us?"

"As I'm sure you can tell, I'm radically different from the boy you saved two years ago. I've suddenly found myself in a position to change things around me for the better. The first step of that plan is to fight against the notion that wand-carriers are in some way superior to the multitude of creatures more intelligent, powerful, or in tune with the forces around us. As such, I've worked with the king of the Goblin Nation to maneuver a goblin friend of mine into a position of power as the proxy for one of the bloodlines I represent. I was hoping that the centaurs, and you in particular, would stand by me and take over another of the seats I hold. It would be a small step, but I believe that slow change is lasting change, and that these actions will set things in motion and pave the way for a world where eventually everyone has a voice in how the Magical World operates, regardless of how pure their blood."

"Saying that you have changed in the last two years may be somewhat of an understatement, Harry Potter," Firenze said slowly as he considered what Harry was planning.

"Why should we work with you?" A second centaur, whom Harry recognised as Bane, asked. "You spout naïve rhetoric and expect us to simply fall in line? You would use us for nothing other than to increase your own fame as the boy who tamed the centaurs! Firenze is not even in the position to make such a decision!"

"You're right, Bane, he isn't," a third voice stated as another centaur entered the clearing. This one easily stood a good foot taller than either Firenze or Bane, both his horse and human halves looming over them all with their sheer size. His horse half reminded Harry of a massive black warhorse, with long shaggy hair around the hooves bigger than his own head, and hard, powerful muscles like the corded limbs of a great ancient tree. His human half was an equally large man with shaggy black hair falling from his head in waves. Unlike Bane and Firenze, who, with the exception of their scalps and eyebrows, were hairless, this centaur had a thick beard on his face, as well as across his wide barrel chest and down the backs of his forearms. Harry could see flecks of grey in his beard and near his temples, and his deep silvery eyes, set beneath a low, sturdy brow, spoke of his advanced age. "But neither are you in the position to deny this offer, either. We are a herd, we follow no individual, and listen only to the stars and the magic around us."

"My apologies, Elder," Bane muttered, sufficiently cowed.

Ignoring him, the Elder turned to Harry and looked deep into his eyes. "You are a rather interesting human, Harry Potter," he observed after about a minute of silent staring, which Harry returned easily.

"Thank you, Elder. To warrant the interest of centaurs is not an easy feat for a human," Harry replied.

"If Firenze were to accept your proposition, would you have him follow some sort of agenda?"

"No," Harry stated firmly. "The whole idea behind this is for me to use the seats of power I hold to give _you_ a voice. I can't promise it will be easy. In fact, it will certainly be incredibly difficult. But the time has come for the world to change. Once I'm old enough to take all of my seats at once, Griphook and Firenze, should he accept, will still remain as my proxies as I both have no interest in that kind of politics, and as a statement of where I stand among the various clashing ideologies."

"I see no deception in you, Harry Potter," the Elder announced. "The decision ultimately remains with Firenze, but you and your Sun have my faith."

"Thank you, Elder," Harry said with a deep bow, which Daphne mimicked. "We will do our best to not let you down."

"I stand with you as well, Harry Potter," Firenze said. "I can feel the very magic around me urging me to stand by your side as you face the coming trials."


	7. Chapter 7

Third year passed with little else of interest taking place. The outrage over Firenze also joining the Wizengamot surpassed the reaction when Griphook had, especially when once again, they were presented with a flawless argument, as well as precedent due to there being a goblin present within the meetings, supporting the appointment of Centaur Firenze as the proxy for the newly announced Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Gryffindor.

The wizarding community was in a frenzy when news broke of not just another non-human joining the Wizengamot, but of yet another descendant of four of the most influential wizards and witches in Magical Britain revealing his existence to the world. Speculation concerning who these two new lords were became one of the most discussed topics among people of all kinds. Meanwhile, believers and followers of more conservative ideologies were forced to either voice their beliefs more bluntly or maintain their silence in the face of both Griphook and Firenze being amongst the most intelligent, articulate, and, with the help of their individual political situations, formidable voices in the meeting hall. The biggest challenge they faced was in lobbying support, as they were quickly opposed by many, while others who did support them did so to either try and gain favor from whoever the lords of the two newly returned houses were, or manipulate them into supporting their own agendas, something Harry was informed Dumbledore attempted to do quite often. The problem was found in where to draw the line with the sycophants and manipulators. They needed their support, but neither Griphook nor Firenze would bind themselves to the expectations of returned favors.

Back at Hogwarts, Harry noted that Dumbledore seemed to be taking increasingly frequent trips into the Forbidden Forest, which put him on edge during the full moon, but with Sirius and the new additions of Professor Lupin, whom Harry had finally approached and told the truth about Sirius before asking for a vow of silence and explaining about his own condition, and Firenze, he was reassured that Dumbledore had yet to figure anything out. He had been surprised when he and Daphne had been sitting in the forest with Kyddris, who was now just a bit smaller than a horse, and yet just as friendly as the day he hatched, Zephyr had appeared to join them after one of his daily flights and had been accompanied by Fawkes.

Harry had introduced Daphne to the phoenix, and smiled when he seemed to like her, perching on her shoulder and letting out a song that filled them both with happiness. While Harry had been steadily finding that he could understand most animals, receiving impressions of emotions, instincts, and on occasion thoughts in the case of certain magical creatures, Fawkes seemed to communicate in a completely different fashion. It was almost as if Harry could hear the song in the very depths of his mind, letting him know exactly what Fawkes was thinking, but in a manner completely foreign from what he would consider thought.

It was near the end of the semester when anything noteworthy happened. They had been sitting in their clearing, trying to figure out what they were going to do over the summer, as Dumbledore had come by to remind Harry that he needed to go back and stay with his relatives for at least a month, making sure to emphasise that he was not to run away this time. When he had relayed the info to Daphne she had snorted derisively and rolled her eyes as she leaned against his side while Kyddris draped himself across their laps.

"Yeah, fat chance. I've already spoken with my mother, and after playing to her maternal instincts she's agreed to house you at some point over the summer."

"What about your father?" Harry asked.

"He might be the Lord Greengrass in public, and a jackass in private, but he still knows who's really in charge of Greengrass Manor. Plus are you really telling me that you don't plan on having Tipsy apparate you directly to Potter Manor once we arrive at King's Cross?"

"That's fair," Harry conceded. "But I do wonder what he meant by having to stay for at least a month."

"Whatever reason he has, it's not worth spending another minute with _them_ ," Daphne spat.

"No, it isn't. We'll just have to figure it out later."

A rustling off to the side drew their attention as Professor Lupin came strolling into the clearing, his hands in his pockets.

"Good morning, Professor," Daphne greeted.

"It's not Professor any longer, I'm afraid," Lupin replied staring up at the clouds drifting lazily across the sky.

"Why not?" Harry asked.

"It seems word about my condition has gotten out, and parents are demanding my resignation," Lupin informed them.

"That's terrible!" Daphne exclaimed while Harry growled at the idea of someone he considered a pack mate being thrown of the school.

"But inevitable," Lupin said sadly.

"You know that you're welcome to stay with Sirius and me, right?" Harry offered.

"That's very kind of you, Harry. I may just take you up on it after some time to myself," Lupin replied. "I did have one question for you though, before I left."

"Ask away."

"Back in October, when I showed you all the boggart, how did you make it keep changing forms?"

"It was nothing special," Harry admitted. "Severus warned me ahead of time that we would be facing a boggart, and I had read about them before, so I knew how they worked. When it came to be my turn, rather than let it turn into my worst fear in front of all those people, I just started thinking about all the times I had been really afraid, and it changed along with my memories."

"Astounding," Lupin muttered. "Never have I heard of someone able to master their own fears to the point where they could manipulate a boggart like that. If I may, what was it you were hoping to stop the boggart from turning into?"

"Sorry, Moony, you already used your one question," Harry said cheekily.

"That's fair," Lupin replied with a shrug. "You two may want to hurry back to the castle. The carriages will be leaving soon."

Harry and Daphne nodded, and, thanks to Tipsy and Dobby sparing them the need to return to their dorms for their things, decided to they might as well leave.

"How would you like to skip the carriages?" Harry asked.

"What did you have in mind?" Rather than answer, Harry smiled and shifted into Nightfire before crouching down next to her. Daphne giggled when he nuzzled her hand before tossing his head back to his furry back. "You want me to ride you?" Nightfire purred and nodded his head as he waited anxiously for her to climb aboard. Once she was securely on his back, her hands buried in his mane, Nightfire stood up to his full height, which had grown since his first transformation to about five and a half feet at the shoulder. Stretching his wings into the air, Nightfire pushed off his scaled hind legs and took off with a running start, rising above the trees with only a few flaps of his massive wings and roaring victoriously while Daphne screamed and laughed as they zoomed through the air. She could tell that Harry had missed flying since breaking his broom near the beginning of the year, and as he executed various midair maneuvers on the way to Hogsmeade Station, she could feel the exhilaration he felt as he enjoyed the specific freedom that came with flying unencumbered through the air.

It was amazing how much could change over the course of just one year.

*(OoO)*

Summer passed dreadfully slowly for Daphne. While she normally relished in the break in her studies, taking advantage of the warm weather to do little more than lounge about in the sun far away from anyone else, with the exception of Tracey and Blaise, who would regularly come over to spend time with her, ever since meeting and befriending Harry Potter nearly a year ago she simply couldn't get her mind to calm down while he was away. Her friends pestered her relentlessly about it, especially whenever a certain snowy white owl would appear on the horizon and Daphne would leap to her feet and run outside just to receive the letter from the boy who had rapidly become one of her best friends that much sooner.

"She must consider this her second home," Tracey commented one day after Hedwig had delivered yet another letter from Harry before choosing to simply relax on Daphne's shoulder. They were all sitting on the balcony outside Daphne's room on the second floor of Greengrass manor when Hedwig appeared out of nowhere with a letter from Harry.

"I wonder how far he is from us," Blaise said. "How long does it normally take to get a letter from him?"

"He's been staying with the Weasleys at their home on the outskirts of Ottery St. Catchpole, in Devon, for the past couple weeks," Daphne informed them, deflecting the conversation. "Arthur Weasley managed to secure several tickets to the World Cup, so Ron invited him and Granger to join them."

"I bet that's got you all excited," Tracey teased. "Now you have less than a week before you can see him, rather than having to wait for your chance to frantically search the train and hope Weasley and Granger don't lock you out of the compartment."

Daphne rolled her eyes and ignored the part of her that had most definitely _not_ been anxiously counting the days on the calendar before they left for the Quidditch World Cup themselves. That would be behaviour more becoming of someone with a silly schoolgirl crush, not the fourteen year old Heiress to the Noble House of Greengrass, who had to already contend with the political machinations of her fellow Slytherins (and their parents), as well as work covertly to help play her part in some magical prophecy that predicted she and her friends would be amongst those reshaping the entirety of at least one broken system of society before moving on to goals that would somehow involve the world at large. No. If she ever caught herself wondering how much Harry had grown, or pondering on the occasional flash of feeling when he was studying or training, it was simply because she recognised the fact that there were several groups of people who would like to see him dead and he needed to be in peak condition. It most certainly had nothing to do with the fact that by the end of their third year, he had already started to have a body that no thirteen year old boy should have, and that was just from the impression she got through his bulky robes and the couple brief glances she had earlier in the year. If she found herself drifting off into thoughts about his vibrant green eyes, it was only because she had noticed that as his power grew through his exercises and their joint extra training with Professor Snape, they would sometimes actually _glow_ , and she was simply trying to think of ways to cover up the tactical disadvantage that would present were he forced to fight in low visibility. And if she sometimes imagined what he would be like in the far off future, and envisioned him playing with his future son and daughter (who just so happened to have messy, blond hair with green eyes and straight, dark hair with blue eyes, but that was just because they were very common) it was simply because he was her good friend, and after hearing what he would be faced with in the future, and briefly seeing the marks of what he had faced in the past, she couldn't help but hope he would someday have the family he so desperately wished for.

"I can't believe he actually chose to go and spend his time with them," Tracey said disbelievingly, snapping Daphne out of her thoughts. "After everything that happened between the three of them over the last year, you would think he would rather stay far away from them."

"I think he hopes that some time together, not worrying about school, or training, or plans for the future, will help him mend some of the distance between the three of them," Daphne replied, still sour whenever she thought about how the two people who claimed to be Harry's best friends had treated him because he had decided that there were certain aspects of his life that he simply couldn't share with them.

"And how's that working out for him?" Blaise asked.

"Better than I expected, but not nearly as well as he had hoped," Daphne answered vaguely. "He's in a house with eight other people, and all of them –except maybe the youngest Weasley, since she still has a hard time forming complete sentences around him –seem to have opinions about him and want to tell him what they think he should be doing with his free time. The only time they aren't lecturing him on his exercise or reading habits are when he's playing Quidditch with them or flying on the new Firebolt his godfather got him for his birthday."

"I would have thought that Granger at least wouldn't fault him for wanting to get ahead on his classes," Blaise admitted.

"He's not reading anything that has to do with Hogwarts," Daphne corrected. "And for the most she at least respects him enough to let him read in silence."

"Then what is he reading that could have the whole Weasley Clan in such a tizzy?" Tracey asked.

"He's purchased a ton of texts on Muggle practices," Daphne said. "He's been really interested in their science and mathematics, as well as anything pertaining to law and economics. The twins, who he said want to start their own joke shop, have been really supportive. According to Harry, they've asked to borrow pretty much every one of his books after he's finished with them, with the hope of applying them to their pranks as well as how to best manage their future funds. The Weasley patriarch has also been fairly enthusiastic, but that's to be expected considering he's known for his fascination with all things Muggle."

"So it's Ron that's giving him grief?" Tracey surmised.

"As well as his mother and older brother. Despite their apparent love for Muggles, even they've fallen into the trap of believing that we don't need to know anything about their understanding of the world since we have magic to explain most things."

"Man, am I happy that my dad didn't bring any of your society's garbage with him when he married my mum," Tracey announced. "He was nobody special, so no one even cared when he married a muggle."

"Until you went and blabbed about it first year and turned most of Slytherin against us," Blaise muttered. "I do agree with you. My _Nonno_ made sure I was properly educated in Muggle matters in case I decided to join the family business."

"You said he's being given grief for his exercise habits?" Tracey asked getting things back on track.

Daphne nodded with a smile. She had been particularly bitter thinking about how, even on vacation far away from those monsters he had lived with before Zephyr saved, he was still being given grief for just trying to live his life his way, when she felt a sudden burst of comfort through her connection with Harry, which while severely weakened due to the distance between them, was still strong enough to occasionally send them both impressions of what the other was feeling. "During the school year he would wake up early most mornings to swim in the Black Lake, and when he returned home for the summer, Professor Snape, Griphook, and his godfather all pitched in to help step up his training. At the Burrow, the best he has is a small pond infested with grindylows and running laps around the property while avoiding the never-ending horde of gnomes that live there."

"Considering his weird connection with most creatures, you would think he would be fine with that," Blaise joked, prompting a snort from Tracey.

"Yeah, while Granger keeps making thinly veiled comments alluding to the fact that she knows he's hiding something beneath his clothes, even while exercising. And the Weasleys find it strange that a person would want to exercise beyond just playing Quidditch."

"I'm sure Sister Granger's coronary at the sight of the massive dragon tattoo across his torso would be a sight to see," Tracey said with a giggle.

"Especially when it came to life and revealed itself to be a four hundred pound Ukrainian Ironbelly," Blaise added.

They all burst into laughter which only died when a larger than average dove made out of glowing silvery-white mist flew onto the balcony and landed between them.

 _"Your father is home, and has brought guests,"_ Daphne's mother's voice rang out of the dove. _"He will be in the drawing room for the rest of the night, and working from home until we leave for the World Cup. He does not wish to be disturbed."_

"That's not good," Daphne muttered as the dove faded like smoke caught in a breeze. Despite the warm late afternoon sun, a cold chill had suddenly made its way down her spine, filling her veins with ice and threatening to restrict the air from her lungs. The drawing room was just down the hall from Daphne's room, and while Cyrus didn't normally use it, preferring to use the Lord's Office (much to her consternation), if he so much as was made aware of her presence nearby, Daphne knew it wouldn't end well. Especially if she had visitors, one of whom was Tracey, over without his permission.

"We need to get to out of here," Tracey whispered frantically

"How?" Blaise asked. "We can't apparate, and the drawing room is between us and the rest of the house."

"Maybe he hasn't put up any wards yet."

"No, Grubby puts them up for him right away after he arrives now." Daphne countered. "He isn't about to make the same mistake again, especially after Firenze and Griphook managed to secure the law he was attempting to pass last month failed. He was convinced I leaked information to them regarding what he said in a conversation concerning his thoughts on certain members of the Wizengamot."

"But didn't you?

It had actually been a recording of him discussing the illegal dealings of some of his allies. Turns out Hermione's spy earrings were good for something after all.

"That's beside the point!" Daphne hissed. "If he's paranoid enough to trap me in my room, that means he's just looking for an excuse. We need to find another way out of here."

"I don't suppose Grubby would help?" Blaise asked.

"I doubt it," Tracey said ruefully. "Didn't you say he came with Cyrus? Lady Greengrass didn't have an elf at the time of their marriage."

"No, but that does give me an idea," Daphne said as she was struck by the memory of seeing Harry collapse on the ground after reciting a prophecy that he shouldn't have been able to. Closing her eyes and focusing on the feelings that bonded her and Harry together, Daphne prayed for success as she whispered the only word that could possibly save her and her friends.

"Dobby."

With a loud crack, Dobby appeared standing between them. His recovery from the Malfoy's abuse had gone splendidly as he was now standing a bit taller and there was more than just skin and bones beneath the nice suit that Harry had finally manipulated him into wearing instead of the pillow case he had before. His large, exaggerated features had started to shrink, making him look slightly more humanoid. He was still a far cry from Tipsy, who looked more like a miniature human with only slightly larger eyes and ears. Going more than a decade without her masters had made her look significantly older, wrinkling the corners of her eyes and mouth, and greying her hair slightly, but other than that, she was the picture of what a happy, healthy house-elf with a loving home should look like.

"Master Harry Potter's Sunny-Grass Girl called?" Dobby asked with a smile.

"Dobby, we're in danger," Daphne whispered desperately as she already heard footsteps and voices in the hall. "There's a bad man outside this room, and we need your help to get away from here."

Dobby's smile faded and he nodded seriously. Taking out a pocket watch from the pocket of his nicely pressed slacks, he quickly checked the time before putting it back. "Worry not. Dobby will keep Master Harry's Sunny-Grass and friends safe." Reaching into his jacket, he pulled out a slip of parchment and handed it to Daphne. "Quickly now, Lady Sunny-Grass and her friends must read this so that Dobby can bring them through the wards."

Daphne nodded and looked down at the slip of parchment and recognised the scratchy handwriting that read: _The Home of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter can be found in the forests north of Banff National Park._

 _Banff?_ Daphne thought as she handed the slip of parchment to Tracey and Blaise, who read it quickly and both bore similar looks of confusion as Dobby took back the parchment and quickly burned it. They didn't have time to question him, though, as the doorknob to her room rattled and she heard cursing followed by a low muttering of a spell as she grabbed hold of Dobby's shoulder and was suddenly struck by the feeling of being a square block shoved through a circular hole as her room vanished and she collapsed on the warm hardwood flooring of what she assumed to be Potter Manor.

"Daphne? What are you doing here?" A familiar voice asked, and Tracey screamed in fright as they looked up and saw Sirius Black standing over them, a look of concern in his sunken grey eyes.

"I called for Dobby to get us out of a tight spot and he brought us here," Daphne explained. "Though I'm not too sure where _here_ is. Also, these are two of my best friends, Tracey Davis and Blaise Zabini."

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintances," Sirius said politely. He looked far different from the haggard man that she had watched Harry fight off an out-of-control to save earlier in the year. Like Dobby, his body seemed to be recovering nicely from years of torment, and his eyes, though still haunted, had regained some of their shine. He was now dressed in a stylish three-piece suit, and his long black hair had been tied back in a low ponytail with a red ribbon (most likely an allusion to the fact that he was the only known Black to enter Gryffindor instead of Slytherin) while she noticed a ring on her hand that most pureblood families would recognise.

"So, you finally managed to get to Gringotts to secure your Lordship?" Daphne asked while Tracey and Blaise continued to balk at the casual way she was speaking to a known mass-murderer, who was infamous for the betrayal of James and Lily Potter.

"That I did," Sirius replied. "I never thought I would be taking up this position, especially considering it wasn't all that long after Regulus died that I was hauled off to Azkaban. But with Harry and Griphook's help, and a good word from Ragnok himself, I managed to sneak my way into Gringotts to take the blood test and accept the ring."

"Wait, _you're the_ Lord Black?!" Tracey shouted. "I would have thought that you would lose your candidacy for the Lordship after, you know, killing a bunch of people."

"I would," Sirius replied, his eyes sparkling with mirth. "But seeing as I do hold the position as Lord of The Most Ancient and Noble House of Black, perhaps a bright girl like yourself would be able to infer the truth of the matter."

"You're innocent," Blaise said. "And that also means that you're the godfather of Harry's that Daphne keeps mentioning."

"Got it in one, my young Mafioso," Sirius said, causing Blaise's eyes to widen before he simply blazed onward. "Now, what was it you were saying about danger? And make it snappy, Harry's going to check in the second he can get away from the Burrow, and I'd like to prevent an angry dragon-lion from bursting in here and burning the place down, especially after Tipsy and I just finished putting in these new hardwood floors over that dreadfully cold cobblestone."

"My father brought home guests while I had Tracey and Blaise over," Daphne explained. "My mother told me to find someplace to stay and meet up with her and my little sister at the World Cup."

"I see," Sirius murmured, writing down a quick note and handing it to Hedwig, who had been forced to apparate with them and had flown over to sit on a nearby shelf when they all collapsed on the floor. Hedwig took the note and took off only to disappear before she even made it to the window. "Owl apparation," Sirius explained. "Lets her instantly come and go from here to a believable distance from anywhere else. Helps with keeping people from using her flight patterns to figure out where we are and spares her from having to cross the pond every time we want to send a letter."

"Lord Black, where exactly are we?" Tracey asked.

"Canada," Sirius replied simply as he walked off to the kitchen. "Now come, let's have some food and figure out the best way to use this opportunity to mess with Harry. Now that they know to be quiet, Dobby and Tipsy will collect all your school things and deliver messages to your parents alluding to where you are. Afterwards I can show you all where you can stay until the World Cup."

"Be sure that it goes to my mother, please, Dobby," Daphne said as they followed Sirius. Dobby nodded and vanished, this time quietly, while Tipsy quickly served four plates of steaming hot stew with buttered slices of baguette before also vanishing silently.

"If we're really in Canada, how do you keep the authorities from tracking your international travels?" Tracey inquired.

"The Potters are a very old and very powerful family," Sirius said. "Only Harry is allowed to know the details of how any of the probably thousands of enchantments and wards work, but the way I understand it, in the case of the Floo Network, somewhere along the line, one of Harry's ancestors found a way to create their own between here and different locations all over the world. There's a second regular fireplace at each of these locations that while traceable will only tell you that he's in your country, not where he came from or where he's going."

"That sounds all kinds of illegal," Blaise muttered.

Sirius shrugged and took the first forkful of stew. "Probably."

*(OoO)*

Harry woke earlier than usual the day of the Quidditch World Cup. He was happy that he had mended some of the damage to his friendships with Ron and Hermione, going so far as to actually share with them the identity and innocence of his godfather, and even reluctantly explaining some of the details concerning Zephyr after they had seen him appear to Harry in a bolt of lightning and shrink himself down from his four-winged size to the one he normally used when around others. Despite all this, he was still extremely anxious about seeing Daphne again, especially after receiving the letter from Sirius detailing how she was staying at Potter Manor with Tracey and Blaise and would meet up with him at the entrance to the camp. Ron and Hermione both teased him relentlessly for packing a particularly nice set of clothes just for the World Cup, but this was the first time Harry would be meeting the Lord and Lady Greengrass, and, in the case of the latter, revealing his position as Head of House Potter. Daphne had convinced him to bring her mother into the loop, stating that Penelope Greengrass was fiercely loyal to her family and their allies, and that she would make a powerful ally and useful spy until they figured out the best way to remove Cyrus from his place as Lord of House Greengrass. Creeping out of the room he shared with Ron, he waved at the twins, who were already up and prepared to leave, both sitting in the small living room on the ground floor, reading two of the Muggle books Harry had brought with him.

Stretching his arms above his head as he stepped out into the early morning sun, he made his way over to the small pond behind the Burrow, punting a gnome who was trying to uproot Mrs. Weasley's vegetable garden along the way. Pulling out his wand, he quickly transfigured his T-shirt and boxers into a form fitting wetsuit, frowning once more at the strange feeling from his wand. It seemed like it had been fighting him more and more lately as he had to sometimes force his magic through it, similar to how one would struggle through waist-high mud. There had even been one occasion where he tried to cast a simple _lumos,_ and rather than the tip of his wand starting to glow, a bright light suddenly poured out of the tip of his pinky fingers. With a quick greeting to the nearest grindylow watching him from the murky bottom of the pond, Harry dived in and started his daily routine of swimming the length of the tiny pond over and over.

It wasn't nearly as good as swimming in the Black Lake, or any of the many bodies of water around Potter Manor, and he always found himself missing the company of the Giant Squid, who never failed to make him laugh with its silly underwater antics or stories of how it messed with the merpeople. The grindylows were not much smarter than the gnomes, and only respected him after he had proved that he was capable of communicating with as well as blasting them to bits. Kyddris had particularly enjoyed that last part. He had spent the entire time at the Burrow hidden as a tattoo and Harry couldn't help but find it cute that he couldn't seem to decide whether he was more excited to finally get to spread his wings again, or finally see Daphne after nearly two months apart. Harry couldn't help but agree as well. The distance separating him from his best friend felt like a piece of him was being pulled and stretched getting closer and closer to snapping off with every day and every mile. Pulling himself out of the pond, he quickly dried himself and conjured a towel, making sure to leave his hair damp so as to not arouse suspicion that he was performing magic outside of Hogwarts. He returned to his room just as Hermione was exiting the bathroom, and greeted her cheerily, ignoring the slightly skeptical look in her eye as she returned the greeting.

It still hurt him to keep so many secrets from his friends, but after seeing Ron nearly spill the beans about Sirius several times already, and having to spend twenty minutes using all of his Occlumency skills to convince Hermione that Dumbledore was already aware of the existence and innocence of his godfather, he had unfortunately only succeeded in proving to himself that he had made the right decision a year ago when he had decided to turn his life around and take control of his own destiny. He quickly got dressed and made himself a hurried breakfast before joining Fred and George in the living room and cracking open his own book on physics. At the moment, he was particularly interested in energy and the many forms it could take. Learning about the details behind fire and electricity and the many different ways energy could transfer from one thing to another was particularly enlightening, especially after reading the opening paragraphs in the book Griphook had gotten him for his birthday on the art of Dragon Slaying Magic. The book had described it as the only magic that could cause a dragon serious harm, because it was the very magic of a dragon itself. It dealt with controlling and manipulating energy within and around a person using an extremely rare ability that hadn't been seen for a long time, and vaguely alluded to a unique way masters in the art would train long before it was even recognised as a sufficient tool for killing one of the most dangerous and powerful creatures in the world. Nowadays it took a team of at least ten wizards just to subdue one, while only magically enhanced weapons made out of goblin steel, or a Killing Curse directly to the eye, could bring them down. Anything else was shaken off and eventually healed remarkably quickly.

He sat there and quietly read as the rest of the house awoke one by one, tuning out the chaos as everyone ran back and forth to get ready at the last minute. It amazed him that they ever made it anywhere on time, but after a lot of running around, Ron groaning about how early it was, and Mrs. Weasley shouting at them, they finally made it out of the Burrow and were walking through the nearby woods, where they met Amos Diggory and his son Cedric. Harry laughed and waved Cedric off when he tried to apologise once more for the disaster that had been Harry's only Quidditch match last year, and told him that they would just need to have a rematch between the two of them when they got back to school. That led the conversation between the students towards speculating on what the reason for Hogwarts to send out letters stating that the Quidditch season would be cancelled while Harry noticed Percy, Arthur, and Amos all stiffening, as if they knew something. He chose not to question them, though, figuring he would wait and see what was going on, and followed the others up a hill toward where a mangy old boot awaited to transport them to the location of the Quidditch World Cup.

Heart thumping with excitement, Harry felt Nightfire roar inside him, his inner beast more excited than him to see Daphne. He had been fortunate that the full moon had come and gone before he even came to the Burrow, and was dreading having to take the Wolfsbane he had packed to deal with the next. He had only been able to spend a couple of hours as Nightfire, as even with the invisibility cloak and a silencing charm, there were simply too many people around the Burrow who would notice his absence, and the presence of a horse-sized chimera and even larger Ukrainian Ironbelly (he had learned soon after bonding with Kyddris that he was unable to remain as a tattoo unless Harry was fully human) were not easy to hide, especially when Ron's older brother, Charlie, who had only returned to the Burrow the week before, worked with dragons all the time.

A strong tugging behind his navel drew Harry from his remunerations as he suddenly felt himself being dragged off the ground before landing in a heap on the ground with everyone but Arthur, Amos, Cedric, and Percy.

The first thing he noticed was her deep, primal fear. He could even smell it as he stood up off the ground, barely registering that he had just thrown Fred off of him onto Ron as he tried to hide the fact that he was sniffing the air, looking for her trail. Within moments he found it, and Nightfire roared at him to go to her _now_. He fought down his instincts and tried to send the most comforting feelings he could over their connection, sifting through his memories for the correct emotion to transfer. Finding one where he had reassured himself after being locked in his cupboard without food. He sent the same feeling he had managed to produce in himself by repeating that it would be over soon to her and felt her fear subside.

His friends had immediately picked up on his shift in mood, but he had reassured them that nothing was wrong as they walked towards their tent. Taking another quick sniff of the air, Harry instantly volunteered to go and gather some firewood, and nearly sprinted through the rows of tents once he was out of sight. He followed the smell of vanilla and parchment and _her_ towards the woods surrounding the campground and grinned when he broke the tree line and was tackled by a flaxen missile. He grunted as Daphne tackled him to the ground, but wrapped his arms around her and didn't even think of restraining the pleasant rumbling in his chest as he held his Sunshine close and buried his nose in her hair. He was struck by just how much he had missed her, and tightened his grip on her as they simply lay there in the grass, soaking up the comfort in once again being with the person who, in the span of only a year, had become their closest friend. Daphne reached up and buried a hand in his shaggy hair, lightly scratching his scalp, and giggled as the rumbling in Harry's chest grew louder. He had grown several inches over the summer, and from the feel of his chest, had once again increased his exercise regime, but as her smell invaded his nose and peace finally settled in his soul, his hair steadily grew longer while his body started to grow.

Only a mental reminder from Kyddris, who was about to be expelled from his tattooed form, stopped Harry in time before he lost control and Daphne would have to explain what she had been doing laying on dangerous creature that had no business that near the campground.

"I missed you," Harry muttered as he buried his face in her hair and allowed himself one more deep breath of the scent that somehow made him both foggy and enhanced everything around him.

"I missed you too," Daphne replied as she looked up into his shining green eyes.

"I guess you weren't exaggerating when you said that Daphne had found a new best friend, _Piccolo,_ " an amused voice remarked from above them.

Harry and Daphne snapped apart, both diving behind their respective masks to hide their mutual embarrassment at being caught so emotionally exposed. Harry looked towards the speaker and was met with Blaise and Tracey struggling not to laugh while a tall woman stood just behind them, smiling amusedly. Considering the similar facial structures, skin tones, smells (though hers was masked beneath a perfume that made Harry's nose itch), and magical feelings, it wasn't hard for Harry to piece together who he was looking at as he stood up and bowed to her before offering his hand in greeting.

 _"You must be Blaise's mother,"_ he said, unaware of the wide eyes and gasps of amazement as he accidentally introduced himself in fluent Italian. _"It's nice to meet you. I'm Harry Potter, a friend of your son's."_

"Potter, since when do you speak Italian?!" Tracey shouted.

"Was I?" Harry asked. "Sorry, I wasn't aware."

"Nonsense," Mrs. Zabini said, accepting Harry's hand and laughing softly as Harry bent down to place a short kiss on the back of it. "You may call me Abra. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance _Signore_ Potter."

Harry smiled and stood back up. He had heard the rumors concerning Blaise's mother and her suspicious marital history, but generally ignored it. Even if they were true and she was some sort of black widow, he saw no point in judging Blaise for the actions of his mother, who was an adult and perfectly capable of making her own choices. According to the rumors, though, she was supposed to be supremely attractive, with some rumors even stating that she might have veela blood in her veins. But try as he might, Harry simply couldn't see it. Sure, she was young, and tall, and fit, and the mixture of her aristocratic demeanor and exotic appearance was unique, but Harry simply didn't feel anything. He figured she was probably attractive from an objective view point, but by that logic so was Blaise, who at fourteen already shared many of the same features as his mother. Perhaps there was something wrong with Harry in particular? Either way, he wasn't terribly concerned, so he shrugged it off and followed Abra, Blaise, and Tracey out of the woods, making sure to actually grab some firewood along the way as he stuck as close to Daphne as he could, a grin on his face the entire time.

"While the reunion between a girl and her cat is always heartwarming, wasn't there something you meant to tell Harry, Daph?" Tracey asked as they approached the edge of the treeline.

Harry frowned as a hint of the fear he felt earlier bled through their bond. "What's going on?"

"Harry, before Dobby brought us to your place, my mother warned me that Cyrus was going to be working from home for the rest of the summer and would be having guests," Daphne explained. "What was left unsaid was that 'working from home' meant working on things that couldn't be discussed at the Ministry. When Dobby brought me here and I met up with my mom, she warned me that I should make sure I go straight back to the tent after the match and then take Tracey, Blaise, and my sister to the portkey."

"You think something's going to happen tonight after the match, don't you?" Harry asked.

"You might not know this, but Cyrus and a lot of the darker families followed You-Know-Who during the first war. They managed to evade capture through a variety of means, and if they're planning something, it can't be good."

Harry nodded and considered what he had been told carefully. "I need you all to come with me while I warn the Weasleys," he said after a minute or two of thought. "I don't want to start a panic, but they do need to be ready in case something happens." Without another word he took off towards the Weasleys' tent, and Daphne could feel the barely restrained protective anger through his impassive façade, meanwhile magical power seemed to roll off him in waves.

"If nothing else, _Piccolo_ , your friends certainly are not dull," Abra concluded as she hurried after Harry.


	8. Chapter 8

Harry burst through the tent flaps and set down the firewood as he made his way towards the table where Arthur Weasley was sipping on a butterbeer and talking with Bill, his eldest son. Daphne, Tracey, Blaise, and Abra soon followed him in and he ignored Ron as he jumped to his feet and pointed at the accusingly.

"Oi, mate, what do you think you're doing bringing those bloody snakes in here? Isn't it bad enough that you have to hang around with them at school?"

"Arthur, Bill, we need to speak to you privately," Harry said, the fire in his eyes telling both men that he was not about to take no for an answer. "It's rather important."

Arthur and Bill shared a look and nodded before following Harry and company outside the tent where took out his wand and cast a series of some of the most powerful privacy wards he knew, not even paying attention to the fact that he was doing it completely silently, or that the magic was actually flowing out of his hand, not his wand.

"Harry, what's going on?" Bill asked suspiciously as he looked between his youngest brother's best friend and the four others behind him.

"We think that there's going to be an attack," Harry said bluntly. "Tonight."

"Harry, the World Cup is one of the most heavily guarded events ever," Arthur replied skeptically. "No one could attack here without being stopped after firing off their first spell."

"Be that as it may, my father and Lucius Malfoy are planning something for tonight," Daphne argued. "My mother overheard them."

"And why would you tell us and not, say, the authorities?" Arthur asked suspiciously.

"Mister Weasley, if I may," Abra said, stepping in before things could escalate. "That was our next destination. At an event of this size, chaos and panic will be more important to these men than a body count. We are simply telling you first because Harry insisted that you and your family be warned. It cannot hurt to prepare for the worst."

"I can go and talk to a couple of my buddies on guard duty," Bill offered.

Arthur looked between them all indecisively before finally sighing and straightening his posture. "Before you do, find Charlie and have him join you. When you're done, find and warn Percy, then _apparate_ back here and make sure that the twins understand what's going on and that they are not to let Ginny out of their sight. We'll wait and see if anything is happening, but at the first sign of trouble, we leave immediately. Once the kids have been evacuated we'll come back here and help where we can."

Bill nodded and ran off while Harry dismissed the privacy charms surrounding them. "I'm going to be helping in the containment," he announced. Arthur looked like he wanted to protest, but one look into Harry's eyes and he felt as if he was looking at a warrior preparing for battle rather than a fourteen year old boy.

Sighing, he nodded reluctantly. "Do you have a means to get somewhere safe?"

"I do," Harry replied. "I'll make sure Tracey, Blaise, and Daphne get out of here, then assist with guarding the evacuation from beneath my cloak." Arthur nodded and stormed off to find the nearest auror while Tracey snorted.

"Fat chance, Potter. We're not going anywhere."

"Fine," Harry grunted, turning to Daphne his face softened. "Sunshine, when's the soonest your mum and sister can get out of here?"

"I dunno," Daphne replied. "But if the authorities are already being warned, then speaking to her is my next destination."

"Before you go, wait for a second," Harry said, running back into the tent. They could hear Ron shouting as he demanded to know what was going on, before Harry ran out with a handful of candies in his hand. "Here, these should help your mum convince Cyrus that Astoria is sick. That way she can bring her back right away." Daphne's chest tightened at the thoughtfulness behind the action and she accepted the sweets without a word. "I'm gonna go and tell Ron and Hermione what's going on, I'll see you guys later."

Harry turned around but stopped when Abra called his name. Turning around, she pulled out a shiny galleon and handed it to him. Holding it in his hand, Harry could tell there was something different about it and raised his eyebrow curiously. "Once you have evacuated the others you can use it to transport yourself to me. I will be staying with Blaise, Tracey, and Daphne all night, so we can group together."

"Thank you, Abra," Harry said before turning and walking into the tent.

"Are you about done playing cloak and dagger with your pals?" Hermione asked scathingly.

"Not quite," Harry replied. "Though I am willing to let you both in the game if you could put your distain for Daphne and the others aside for the second."

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked while Hermione huffed at how unflappable Harry seemed.

"The reason I was with Daphne was because she was warning me that she thinks her father and some other dark wizards are planning something for after the match."

"And you trust her?" Hermione asked suspiciously.

Rolling his eyes, Harry focused his magic and sent out a tiny pulse, making her yelp as her earrings suddenly disintegrated into ash. "Yes, I do."

Hermione had the decency to look ashamed while Ron just looked confusedly.

"I think you lost me, mate."

"Some of Voldemort's old supporters who managed to worm their way out of going to Azkaban are planning to spread a bit of panic tonight," Harry said bluntly making Ron, Hermione, and a nearby Fred, George, and Ginny flinch. "I don't care about any of your personal views on my other friends, but I'm not about to take this kind of things lightly. The most important thing to do though is wait until anything actually happens so as not to spread a panic."

"Why?" Ron asked fiercely. "We should just find them now and hex them before they get a chance to do anything."

"Sorry, Ron," George began. "But if you plan on storming up to a bunch of fully trained former Death Eaters and attacking them out of the blue…"

"Then George and I are gonna have to stun you right now and drag you back home," Fred finished. "Otherwise Death Eaters will be the least of our worries when Mum finds out."

"Not to mention you would just be arrested for assault," Hermione added. "And many of the darker families hold pretty high positions of authority. How do you think Greengrass knew what was coming."

"I'm gonna go set up some wards around the portkey sites," Harry announced as he walked out of the tent without another word. He threw on his cloak and sprinted towards the woods where he unbuttoned his shirt and allowed Kyddris to finally release himself. Already his familiar had grown to be about eight feet at the shoulder and about seventeen from tip to tail. "Try to stay hidden in the air as much as possible," Harry said. "We don't need people panicking just yet."

 _"I'll stay high above the campground,"_ Kyddris hissed. _"If I see anything, I'll let you know."_

Harry nodded with a smile and did up his shirt while Kyddris zoomed into the air. He wasn't the fastest dragon out there, in fact, Ukrainian Ironbellies were notorious for being slightly slower than other dragons due to the massive size they eventually grew up to, but even then it only took seconds for him to disappear in the bright sky, his superior eyesight allowing him to survey the ground below for anything suspicious. He had just finished buttoning up his shirt when he heard Hermione and Ron calling his name as they came running into the woods.

"Harry!" Ron shouted as they came to a stop. He and Hermione doubled over and took a couple minutes just to gather their breaths before he continued. "Don't you think you're being a bit paranoid, mate?"

"Ron's right," Hermione added. "You haven't even started your fourth year, what do you think you could do that the hundreds of aurors guarding this place can't?"

"That's not the point, Hermione," Harry said, gritting his teeth.

"Then what is the point?" Hermione asked. "Because it sounds more like you're just itching for a fight you can't possibly win!"

"Winning?!" Harry shouted. "It's not about winning! This isn't a game! If I can increase the odds of a single person not getting hurt by even one percent, then I _have_ to help!"

"No, Harry, you don't!" Ron yelled. "You don't always have to be the one rushing in to save the day! Just let someone else handle it!"

"Look, you two can either help me, or you can go back to the tent," Harry said. "If you don't understand why I have to do this, then I don't think I can explain it to you."

Both Ron and Hermione looked conflicted for a moment before Ron turned around and pulled Hermione away with him. "We'll see you later, mate."

"Yeah," Harry replied sadly. "See you."

The sun was setting when Harry finally left the woods and made his way back to the tent. It had taken him several hours of hard transfiguration to prepare his final set of defences, and more time still to inscribe the proper runes. It wasn't exactly what Harry would call the ideal test environment, but he figured it was as good a time as any to see how they worked in a true combat situation. Zephyr had appeared to join him and was perched on his shoulder as he wound his way through the crowds. Together they caught up to the Weasley's just as they were entering the stadium. Ron and Hermione were both looking rather apologetic, and Harry was hopeful that maybe they would be able to get a quiet word in and put their earlier argument behind them. His hopes were dashed however when a rather portly gentleman in a dark green bowler hat strolled up to him and threw his arm around Harry's shoulders, ignoring the way Harry stiffened uncomfortably at the contact.

"Harry, m'boy! A pleasure to fancy that this is where we would finally get to meet! I'm Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic."

"The pleasure is all mine, sir," Harry replied politely. He had already done his research on Fudge and knew just what kind of man he was dealing with here.

"Oh, Harry, you simply must join me in the Minister's box! There are some people there who I _know_ would love to meet you!" Fudge turned to an uncomfortable looking Mr. Weasley. "Arthur, you don't mind if I steal Harry here for a bit do you?"

"Not at all, Minister," Arthur replied, smiling awkwardly. There wasn't much he could do, and the look on his face said as much as he looked towards Harry with pity.

Ron and Hermione, though, were not so understanding, and their faces morphed into scowls as they turned away from him and simply continued up the stairs. Burying his sadness, Harry put on his best smile and followed Fudge up to his private box overlooking the Quidditch pitch.

"Harry, allow me to introduce you to several friends of mine," Fudge said happily, leading Harry around like a prized show animal. Stopping in front of a congregation of foreign wizards, Harry was secretly very pleased as Fudge introduced him to the Bulgarian Minister for Magic.

" _It's an honour to meet you, Minister Oblansk,"_ Harry said in fluent Bulgarian.

Oblansk's eyes widened and a smile broke through his severe expression. "I vos not avare that you could speak _Bulgarski_ , _Gospodin_ Potter.

"Obalonsk! I didn't know you could speak English!" Fudge exclaimed, feeling left out already. "You've been letting me mime everything to you all day!"

"Vell, it vos very funny," Oblansk deadpanned, clearly not amused at Fudge's constant failure to so much make the effort to say his name properly.

 _"Please forgive him, Minister,"_ Harry said with a bow. " _As I'm sure you've seen, leading a country towards strength and prosperity must surely make a man weary enough to occasionally forget the charm that got him elected in the first place."_ He had done a fair bit of reading and received some advice from Sirius, and Daphne in her letters, concerning how to behave should he happen to run into people from Bulgaria, among other countries that would be attending the World Cup.

 _"It almost sounds like you are insinuating something, Mister Potter,"_ a second voice chimed in, though this one was tinged with a rather distinct accent.

"Ah! Harry, this is Lucas Delacour, Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement for the French Ministry of Magic," Fudge said happily, turning Harry towards the new addition to the conversation. Monsieur Delacour was near the same height as Harry (which wasn't saying much for a full grown man), and rather plump with a little, pointed black beard. His grey eyes shone with mischief as he shook Harry's hand. Standing next to him was a tall, young woman who easily stood a head taller than him, with long silvery hair and striking blue eyes. Harry felt a tingle in the back of his head as he regarded her, as if there was a second voice in his head that was doing nothing but blabber on about how beautiful the woman was, and how he should be the one standing next to her rather than Monsieur Delacour. The voice only grew louder when two girls stepped forward, both of them looking like younger, carbon copies of their mother, but the moment he looked into the woman's eyes, he felt Nightfire roar from within him, and the voice was silenced as quickly as it came.

"Zis ees _ma femme,_ Apolline, and my daughters, Fleur and Gabrielle," Lucas said, his eyes sparkling with interest as he watched Harry's interaction with the three women.

" _It's an honour to make your acquaintance,"_ Harry said in French as he bowed and took Apolline's hand, placing a soft kiss on the back of it. Apolline and her daughters giggled, and Harry started to feel that strange tingling again, until he suddenly smelled vanilla and parchment floating through the air and felt a surge of anger from Daphne through their connection. He wanted to turn and find her among the many others milling about the minister's box, but knew that in the long run, making a good impression with these foreign dignitaries was more important. _"I'm afraid I don't know to what insinuations you were referring, Monsieur Delacour. If there was an inference to be made, I can assure you it wasn't intentional."_

 _"They rarely are,"_ Lucas replied with a knowing smirk.

"Great Merlin, Harry, I never knew that you had received an education in so many languages!" Fudge exclaimed, a slightly panicked look in his eye. "I hope they are not taking time away from your education at Hogwarts."

"Of course not, Minister," Harry replied smoothly, struggling to maintain his composure as he felt Daphne approaching him from behind, mischief flowing through their bond.

"Potter, I didn't expect you to be here," she said, her icy tone nearly making him laugh as Fudge huffed from being shunted off to the side once more.

"Minister Fudge was kind enough to invite me to watch the match from here," Harry replied. "It's good to see you, Greengrass."

"Daphne, sweetie, who is this?" Daphne turned as a woman whom Harry thought was an older clone of his best friend approached. The only difference was her eyes were a warm hazel as opposed to Daphne's icy blue.

"Mother, this is Harry Potter, a friend from school," Daphne said. "Potter, this is my mother, Lady Penelope Greengrass."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Lady Greengrass," Harry said with a bow after Daphne's mother had taken the mandatory glance towards his forehead that everyone did when they first met him. Luckily Fudge had been called away to introduce the teams and start the game, leaving Harry with one less thing to worry about as the moment he had been dreading since he read in one of Daphne's letters that she and her family would be attending the World Cup also. "Your daughter has been a great friend to me over the past year."

"Daphne, you never told us that Harry Potter had chosen to befriend you," a cool voice said. Harry froze as a familiar man walked up to stand next to Penelope and wrap his arm around her waist possessively. "It's an honour to finally meet someone of your acumen, Mister Potter. I am Cyrus Greengrass, Daphne's father."

It took everything Harry had learned about Occlumency and emotional control from Severus to keep from transforming right there and tearing Cyrus Temple to shreds. His cold blue eyes were so similar, yet so different from Daphne's and Harry had to quickly force himself not to snarl at the emerald ring he had already seen once before in a classroom adorning his outstretched hand. Focusing on his own rings, Harry materialised the Potter family ring as he reached out and shook Cyrus's hand.

"Lord Greengrass, I can't begin to tell you how great it is to finally meet a member of one of my family's old alliances."

Cyrus narrowed his eyes slightly and tightened his grip as his gaze flicked to Harry's own ring. "I'm sure it is. You must have studied your family history rather thoroughly to manage to find anything about the old alliances. Alas," he sighed in false nostalgia. "It is always sad to see such connections become lost to time and… tragedy."

" _Papa, why does this man hate Monsieur Harry?"_ Lucas's youngest daughter asked bluntly. _"They've only just met."_

 _"Gabrielle!"_ Apolline admonished while Harry looked at them curiously. _"You know very well that you are not to use your abilities like that!"_

 _"How do you know I hate him?"_ Harry asked, thoroughly intrigued, while another part of him was suddenly extremely cautious. If a little girl, no older than seven or eight could read him so easily, had the others?

 _"Please excuse my daughter's lack of tact,"_ Lucas said apologetically. _"My girls all have veela blood running through their veins. It makes them particularly perceptive to the emotions of others."_

 _"I see,"_ Harry replied. _"That must be a useful skill for someone of your position."_ Luckily, Cyrus had wandered off to join Fudge and several others to watch the game. Harry was vaguely aware of loud cries of joy and outrage erupting throughout the crowd as one of the players was apparently thrown off his broom.

 _"I wouldn't worry about Delacour spilling your secrets, Potter,"_ Oblansk told him, finally breaking away from Fudge and his band of sycophants, though the Harry couldn't help but find the harshness of his mother tongue robbed his reassurances of a certain degree of comfort. _"His honour and pride are as legendary as they are foolish."_

"Daphne, you didn't tell me that the Lord Potter was so… diplomatic," Penelope whispered.

"Technically, Lady Greengrass, I won't be Lord Potter until next year," Harry corrected. Penelope had the decency to blush, and Harry decided to seize the opportunity that suddenly presented itself. "Sirs, while I have your attention, I believe there is something that you should both know."

"Oh?" Lucas asked, noticing Harry's sudden shift in tone.

Shifting between French, Bulgarian, and English, Harry relayed his warning concerning the possibility of Death Eaters attacking the campground after the match, while Daphne cornered Penelope into corroborating his claims.

"If zis is true, vhy are you not telling your own Minister?" asked quietly as Harry silently cast a variety of privacy wards.

"Minister Fudge is a peacetime leader," Penelope offered. "Even if he weren't bought and paid for by the likes of my husband and his friends, he would rather go on like everything was fine than risk starting a panic and losing his standing with the people."

"You seem awfully quick to try and supplant your 'usband's plans, Madame Greengrass," Lucas remarked suspiciously.

"Cyrus Temple is not worthy of leading the Noble House of Greengrass," Penelope replied hotly. "Contrary to what he thinks, I will not allow him to drag my family down with his bigotry and rhetoric. The old alliances are still alive, and neither time, tragedy, nor he will ever change that."

"Some friends of mine have quietly contacted the aurors guarding the World Cup," Harry said reaching into his pockets and pulling out a handful of small, pebble sized diamonds. "All of you should take one of these."

"What are zey?" Lucas asked as he picked up one of the diamonds and gasped at the complex, powerful magic flowing through it.

"It's an extra layer of defence that I've been working on," Harry replied. "They might not do much, but there's a possibility they can save one of our lives."

"Why do you have so many?" Daphne asked.

"I've been slipping them into the pockets of as many people as I could," Harry replied. "The jewel is transfigured, so it will probably burn out fairly quickly, but it should still buy you time to escape."

"If what you say ees true, this is a very impressive display of majeec, Monsier Potter," Lucas remarked as he took some extras for his family.

"Thank you, sir," Harry said with a nod. "My familiar is currently watching the campground from the skies, as well, and will help where he can."

"Zee bird upon your shoulder is not your familiar?" Oblansk asked.

"No, Zephyr is a close friend and guide," Harry explained. "He says that he'll help where he can as well though."

"Harry, we should go find Blaise and Tracey," Daphne said as Harry pocketed his remaining diamonds.

Harry nodded and turned to both men, bowing low in respect. "It was an honour to meet the both of you, and I hope we can speak another time."

"I hope so 'as well," Lucas said. "I would definitely like to know more about 'ow a boy such as yourself acts so maturely in this sort of situation."

Harry shrugged. "You start getting used to it after the second attempt on your life at school." And turned away, leaving a stunned pair of foreigners and a cautiously hopeful mother behind as they ran down the stairs in search of their friends.

Apparently the match had already ended by the time they just made it to the ground level of the stadium. Harry used the small portkey Abra had given him to warp himself and Daphne to her location in order to hand out the last of the transfigured diamonds. They had almost started to hope that they were, in fact, wrong, when late into the night the sounds of celebration to change into cries of terror and Harry clenched his wand tightly in his hand as he watched a contingent of wizards in dark robes, wearing white skull masks marching between the tents, firing spells and destroying everything in their way while a group of people were floated above them in the air, conjured nooses tied around their necks as they were forced to dance around, like grotesque marionettes.

"There's too many of them for us to help without getting in the aurors' way," Harry shouted as he ducked a stream of fire that gave off a distinct lack of heat. His only indication that it was dangerous was Tracey's yelp as the edge of her jacket caught fire before Abra put it out with a swish of her wand. "We need to get to the woods."

A crack of thunder told Harry that Zephyr had joined the fight, while he groaned when a loud roar and a dark shape dropping into the woods produced more screams.

"Real subtle, Kyddris," he muttered, shaking his head at the sheepish apology he heard in his head.

He stopped running when he saw a group of eight Death Eaters chase a pair of girls into the woods, deliberately away from where the portkeys would be waiting. Growling when he caught sight of a flash of silver hair in the moonlight, Harry sprinted after them, ignoring his friends' shouts behind him as his wand vibrated in his hand. The Death Eaters stopped as they cornered the girls, whom Harry now recognised as Fleur and Gabrielle, and were laughing as one of them waked towards the two girls, unbuckling his pants. Feeling his magic boiling through him, Harry raised his arm and shouted the first spell that came to mind.

" _Reducto!"_ The magic poured out of him, and he watched in stunned horror as his wand lit up and shook violently before crumbling away between his fingers while a bright blue light rocketed towards the man with his pants down and slammed into the base of his spine. Blood and flesh exploded out in a grisly flower of red and Harry could _see_ the bits of obliterated spine lodged in the exposed muscles of the man's back as he soared over the girls and slammed into the trunk of a nearby tree, while several of his friends were sent flying from the force.

Harry froze as he stared at the corpse of the man he had just _killed._ He didn't mean for that to happen. He just meant to send him flying, not tear right through him like he was made of tissue paper. Only his instincts kept him from being killed as he heard Daphne scream his name as she, Blaise, Tracey, and Abra started to hurl spells while Fleur picked up the fallen man's wand and joined the fight.

Only Abra was actually able to hold her own, and Harry growled as he saw one of the men who he had sent flying stand up and point his wand at Daphne's back. Running as fast as he could, he tackled Daphne to the ground before the man even finished saying the incantation.

" _Avada Kedavra!"_ There was a flash of green, followed by a loud cracking sound and a pop. The entire fight froze as the man who had cast the curse was slumped on the ground, dead, while the one who had happened to be standing next to him was screaming in pain. Both men had been impaled by several large pieces of steaming ice, while much of the area around them looked the same. Blood pooled on the ground where the two men lay, and Harry took the opportunity to shift into his animagus form while Kyddris dropped through the trees, roaring angrily alongside Zephyr, who had grown his body to slightly larger than that of an elephant, his six wings beating furiously while electricity crackled all around him.

The remaining Death Eaters screamed in fear, but were no match for the combined might of the three beasts, who viciously tore through them in a matter of seconds.

When they were finished, Harry returned to his human form and helped Fleur and her sister to their feet while Kyddris and Zephyr gave Gabrielle a comforting nuzzle before returning to their respective clandestine forms while Harry called for Tipsy and Dobby.

"Tipsy, get these two to their father. Tell him that they were being attacked and that Fleur lost her wand. Dobby, could you bring us home please?

Both elves nodded and did as told, and as soon as Abra had read the slip of parchment Dobby had given her and burned it away, they were all standing safely in the foyer of Potter Manor, where in a strange act of unity, Sirius and Severus were both standing with identical looks of worry on their faces.

"Yes were all fine," Harry said pre-emptively. "My wand got destroyed in a fight but other than that and a couple of scrapes and bruises, we're all unharmed. Now if you'll excuse me I have calls to make and letters to write." With that he stormed off towards the Lord's Office while the others all watched after him.

"That is one commanding fourteen year-old," Abra noted, breaking the tension.

Sirius sighed and shook his head, laughing. "You have no idea."

"The only person more domineering is Daphne," Tracey teased.

Daphne rolled her eyes and punched her friend in the arm. She had just seen Harry take a life. Several, in fact. She could already feel over their bond that while he seemed to be handling it fairly well after his momentary freeze, there was a part of him that was changed. He was still the same boy she had befriended a year ago, but there was something that was suddenly missing.

Deep down, she knew that there would be more deaths in their near future, and worried about how she would handle it when she was forced to lose that part of herself too.

*(OoO)*

"So there's something I don't understand," Blaise said as they strolled down a Canadian equivalent of Diagon Alley. It had been three days since the attack on the World Cup, and Harry had finally decided that he needed to go and get a new wand. Plus, he needed to get out of the house. He had spent the last three days holed up in his office, answering and sending letters, while deflecting the efforts of both Dumbledore and Mrs. Weasley to find him and have him locked away until the school year began. Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise had decided to stay with him, while Abra returned home, where she would deliver a letter to Tracey's parents alluding to where she was and letting them know she was probably safer than anyone else in Magical Britain.

"Just one?" Harry asked teasingly, laughing when Blaise punched him in the shoulder.

"Well, most of our other questions can be answered with: 'of course he did that'," Daphne groused. She had been woken up earlier than she would have liked by the sound of Harry and Sirius dueling, and was determined to let the world know how unhappy she was because of it.

Harry through his head back and laughed. "That's fair. So what were you wondering?"

"How were you able to speak fluent Italian?" Blaise demanded.

"As well as French and Bulgarian," Daphne added. "You didn't even have an accent."

"Oh, that," Harry mumbled. "Apparently I'm something called a Speaker. It's a rare ability that allows me to understand and speak any language so long as I'm talking with a speaker of that language."

"Blimey, Potter," Tracey exclaimed. "Are there any more unfair abilities that you want to tell us about?"

"At the moment?" Harry asked. "Not really."

"Oh, ha ha."

"So that means there are other abilities?" Daphne deduced.

Harry smiled and nodded as the idea of learning something banished the tired grumpiness from her eyes. "Apparently, the unique mix of things in my blood activated a bunch of latent abilities that most thought had died out."

They had reached their destination and Harry held open the door for his friends before entering the store behind them.

"Whaddya want?" A mountain of a man yelled as he stepped into the front. He seemed to be of indigenous descent, was dressed in a red plaid shirt and jeans, and had a severe look on his face beneath the mane of wild, black hair covering his face and head.

"I'm here to get a new wand," Harry said, summoning all of his family rings. "I was told by a friend that you were one of the best crafters in the world."

"Really?" The man growled, drawing his wand and disarming Harry's friends before he could blink. "Tell me who told you about me so I can gut 'em like the squealing pig they are."

A crack of lightning made the man freeze as Zephyr suddenly appeared between him and Harry, who cast a quick wandless spell to summon his friends' wands back to him.

 _Hello, Kanen. It's been a while._

The man, Kanen, scowled and lowered his wand. "Of course it would be you," he grunted turning toward the back. "Boy, come with me."

Harry followed Kanen into the back and examined the multitude of different jarred materials lining the small workshop.

"The bird misled you, kid, I make staves, not wands."

"He said as much," Harry replied.

"Then what the fuck are you doing here?!" Kanen shouted. "You want some namby-pamby stick to wave around and impress your friends, take a little swim and go ask one of the wand makers in your country."

"No." Harry replied with a scowl.

"Excuse me?" Kanen asked in a dangerously quiet tone. All around them the jars started to rattle and shake as the two of them flexed their respective powers against each other in a silent battle of wills. Daphne could feel the power Kaden was throwing around, and was filled with fear as the air seemed to congest itself with the sheer power filling the little shop. Harry matched him and she couldn't help but look between him and Kanen, and Tracey and Blaise, who had both fallen to their knees and were gasping for breath.

"You are going to make me a staff," Harry demanded. "But first, I need a wand. In fact, you're going to make me two."

Kanen stared down into his eyes, and Harry simply rose to the challenge as a fire started behind them and the glowed a powerful green that was wildly different to Kanen than the light from the spell that had made the brat famous in the first place. Finally after several tense minutes of silence, Kanen through his head back and released a booming laugh.

"You got balls kid, I'll give you that! But then again, that egotistical ball of thunder and feathers wouldn't have chosen you if you didn't. Alright, I'll make you your tools, kid, something tells me that this is going to be my most challenging and interesting project yet.

Harry smiled and nodded in thanks as he followed Kanen around the workshop to pick the various components that would make up his wands and allow him to truly harness the rising tide of power he held within his body. After discussion with Sirius, Severus, Griphook, Remus, and Daphne, as well as letters he had received from Lucas Delacour, Minister Oblansk, and Daphne's mother. They had decided that this year would be when he seized the fame thrust upon him and start making a name for himself. That way, when he revealed himself to be the one pulling so many strings, he would already have a foot to stand on to certify his claims.

Letters had already been sent to several different newspapers and magazines, and the stage had been set. The only thing Harry had to do now would be to finally stop playing the part he had been forced into his first year, and confidently, finally, undeniably be himself.


	9. Chapter 9

Harry sat in his compartment of the Hogwarts Express next to Daphne, twirling his wand idly while she slept against his shoulder and Zephyr slept atop the other. The rush of events over the past week had not given her the chance to fix her sleep schedule, and –mixed with the fact that she had only just adjusted herself to Canada's time zone the night before they left –had spent the entire morning grumbling until they finally arrived at the station early and she pushed him into the first empty seat she could find before promptly curling up and volunteering him to be her pillow.

"You're the one who's responsible for this, so you're the one who's gonna help me not fall asleep in the middle of the feast tonight," she had mumbled only a couple minutes before her breathing evened out and she fell asleep.

Zephyr had found it hilarious, as had Neville and Susan, who had joined them in the compartment before Tracey and Blaise returned from saying goodbye to their parents. Wanting to let Daphne sleep as long as she could, Harry casted the most powerful privacy charms he could so as to ensure they would remain undisturbed. It was already dark and Harry was reading an article in the _Daily Prophet_ about the attack at the World Cup. According to them, there had been a team of mysterious witches and wizards that specialized in a type of combat ice transfiguration that had most likely helped from the shadows during the attack as there were multiple reports of Death Eaters impaled with shards of steaming ice and no one was coming forth to take the credit for casting what, according to the _Prophet_ 's experts was very complicated magic.

Harry rolled his eyes and took out his rune notebooks where he wrote down his own theories and ideas for experimental arrays, and an ancient, leather-bound book that had quickly become one of his most prized possessions.

"What do you have there, Harry?" Tracey asked quietly as Harry pulled out a pen and cracked open the book.

"It's called a pen, Trace," Harry replied with a cheeky grin. "I would have thought that at least you know what they are."

"Funny," Tracey deadpanned. "But I was actually talking about the book, you prat."

"Harry," Neville asked cautiously, his eyes wide with amazement. "Is-Is that… a grimoire?"

"What's a grimoire?" Blaise asked.

Neville's face blazed as he turned his attention solely on the book in Harry's hand. "They're books charmed to show any book within the owner's. They're extremely rare, and ridiculously dangerous."

"Why are they dangerous?" Tracey followed up.

"Because," Susan explained. "The only people known to have grimoires are the oldest or most powerful magical families. The grimoire allows for any text the owner possesses to remain safely stored away at home while they can still read it anywhere. But since that means that someone would simply have to steal one book to have access to all the information at the owner's disposal, grimoires are always remarkably well protected so that only the desired reader may use them. In fact, in most families that have one, it's tradition for any member that wishes to use their library to have both contributed to it, and the defences protecting it, including it."

"Which means that the older the family, the more likely the grimoire will kill you if you try to steal it," Daphne concluded groggily.

"Sleep well?" Harry asked.

Daphne hummed and nodded an affirmative, then stretched her arms above her head as she yawned. Harry was filled with a sudden warmth in his chest as he thought about how cute Daphne looked with her somewhat messy hair and bleary eyes.

 _I think I'd like to see that every day._

He was confused by the strangeness of the random thought that had just crossed through his mind but shook it off. Daphne was his best friend of course he would want to see her every day.

"You're comfy," she said curling back up against him while the others smiled as he wrapped an arm around her casually.

"So, that grimoire of yours means you have direct access to the entire library of yours back at your place?" Tracey asked enviously. She and Daphne had both been instantly enamoured with the sprawling room filled with books and texts as far as the eye could see.

"As well as all everything in my other family vaults, with the exception of texts concerning those specific family spells and secrets. According to Griphook, I can merge the other grimoires with this one next time I go in, so that shouldn't be a problem."

"You know, if you do that, you'll be in possession of what will probably be the most dangerous book in the world," Susan noted.

"Are you sure you want to have something that heavily defended inside a school filled with stupid teenagers?" Neville asked.

"Don't worry, Sirius, Moony, and Severus all helped me already develop my own defence to add to the Potter Grimoire that deals with that."

"What's it do, if you don't mind my asking?" Daphne inquired.

"The first checks the age of the person trying to take it and, with the help of the Marauder's Map, checks whether they're a student at Hogwarts," Harry explained. "After that, the defences and warnings vary depending on who is trying to open it, with the really dangerous ones only applying to an adult who really wanted to take it."

"Well, at least you're thinking ahead," Susan conceded with a shrug.

"And you don't have to carry around any textbooks other than that," Neville added.

The train came to a stop and Harry was intrigued to see that there was someone other than Hagrid's hulking form waiting for them at the station. Replacing him was a stern-looking, elderly witch with short, grey hair and a pointed chin. She was dressed in crisp robes, beneath which she wore a worn two-piece suit.

"First years, with me!" She called, taking the gnarled pipe out of her mouth and blowing out a puff.

"I wonder where Hagrid is," Harry said as they made their way to the carriages, only to pause as he saw yet another new addition. Standing in front of the carriages were a pair of hauntingly beautiful creatures he had never seen before. They resembled skeletal horses in their body structure and posture, but there was a uniquely reptilian aspect to them. Their dark skin shone in the dim light, and looked to Harry as if oil poured over bones. Massive leathery wings sprouted from their backs and their pupil-less eyes glowed a soothing white, like twin moons shining from within their dark, draconic skulls.

"You see them too?" Daphne muttered in his ear, her icy mask slipping as she grabbed his hand fearfully.

Harry nodded, and couldn't tear his eyes as he slowly took step after step towards the gentle creatures. The one nearest to him blew out a huff of air, and Harry felt the touch of its mind, smiling as a tear slid down his cheek. Reaching out with his hand, he placed it on the creature's head and closed his eyes as he brought his own forward to rest his forehead against the top of its snout.

"Harry?" Tracey asked. "What are you doing?"

"He's petting the thestral," Susan replied quietly, watching transfixed as Harry interacted with the morbid creatures.

"What's a thestral?" Daphne asked.

"They're extremely rare creatures," a voice said causing Daphne to whirl around in surprise. Standing with her hands in her pockets, smoking her pipe lazily. "They can only be seen by someone who's seen death, and because of that they get a pretty bad reputation as evil or cursed."

"Aren't you supposed to be with the first years?" Blaise asked.

The woman chuckled and shook her head. "Nah, I just brought them down to Hagrid, who was waiting by the boats. He and Dumbledore both find it fun to impress the first years with a half-giant before they even step inside the school." She walked over to Harry who was still standing with his head against the thestral, stroking it with his hand. He barely even looked away for a second when she placed her hand on his shoulder. "It's not often you see someone connect with these creatures the way you seem to have."

"Yeah, Harry seems to have a knack for attracting all sorts of magical creatures," Neville said.

"Judging by the thunderbird sitting on his shoulder, I'll take your word for it," the woman replied with a smile. "Name's Willhelmina. A friend of mine asked me to come here and shadow Hagrid for a year. Said I'd find the experience enlightening."

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Harry said, finally pulling himself away from the thestral and offering her his hand.

Willhelmina shook his hand and nodded gratefully to him as he opened the door to the carriage and allowed her and Daphne to get in before him. It was a bit of a tight fit, but Harry couldn't really argue against being pressed right up against Daphne. Talk during the carriage ride turned to predictions about the year, and an easy atmosphere set over them all the way to edge of Hogsmeade where Harry felt a sudden chill in the air. The clear sky and twinkling stars overhead seemed to darken further as it seemed the stars began to wink out of existence. The cold bit deeper and deeper into Harry's flesh and he could see his friends all seemed to be shivering quite violently. Even Willhelmina had become noticeably pale as she shuffled through her robes for her wand while Daphne was nearly catatonic next to him.

Then, several things happened in rapid succession.

With a loud bang their carriage was thrown on its side. Harry and Blaise were the first to climb out, and were helping the others out of the carriage when a flash of green light came streaking out of the darkness and Harry tackled Blaise off the carriage to the ground while the loud crack and pop of an exploding block of ice filled the air and steaming shards rained down on them. Harry briefly heard footsteps running away from them, but was distracted by Susan who had managed to climb her way out of the carriage and screamed as amidst the sudden darkness, a more solid mass was moving towards them as the air continued to get colder.

Dementors.

At least ten or twenty of them were gliding towards them and Harry could only watch, transfixed as screaming filled his ears and bright green light flashed behind his eyes.

White light filled the air as Willhelmina expelled silvery mist from her wand. Unsheathing his own from the sheath on his wrist, Harry ignored the sound of his mother screaming and focused on how it felt to be reunited with Daphne, and how happy he had felt simply sitting on the train with her sleeping against him as they were headed back towards the first place he had been able to truly call home. He didn't even realise he had done anything until a hellish shriek filled the air and he opened his eyes to see his own wand pointed at the coming dementors, and a massive twenty foot long wyvern made entirely out of silver light had caught one of the dementors in its jaws and bitten right through it, shaking its head as it viciously tore the dark apparition to shreds while the other dementors fled the scene. Harry's Patronus was not done, though, for it managed to crush another dementor with its tail and snap another one up with its mighty fangs before the rest managed to get too far away.

With the danger gone, the wyvern crawled towards Harry, using its clawed wings as forelegs, and swivelled its head about as it inspected the premises for additional threats.

"Okay, what the hell is this?" Tracey demanded after regaining some of her composure.

"That's some Patronus you've got there, Mister Potter," Willhelmina said.

Daphne, meanwhile, simply ran up and hugged Harry as tightly as she could. She had been aware of his inability to produce an emotion strong enough to give his Patronus a corporeal form, and it filled her with pride and happiness to know that something must have happened to him to allow it.

"I'm proud of you," she whispered, before stepping away as a series of cracks filled the air setting them all on edge and causing the wyvern to actually growl.

"What is going on here?!" Professor McGonagall shrieked seeing the overturned carriage. She, and Professors Dumbledore, Snape, Flitwick, and the newly announced Professor Moody had apparated as soon as they had gotten outside the wards after Dumbledore's phoenix had appeared with the bird Harry had taken to being seen with and informed the headmaster what was going on.

"Dementors," Willhelmina grunted, taking a puff of her pipe. "Whole bevvy of them came swoopin' in after someone attacked our carriage. Potter here managed to cast a Patronus and scare them off, did something nasty to three of them as well."

Dumbledore turned to look at Harry just as another series of cracks rang through the air and Harry raised his wand in anticipation.

"Professor Dumbledore," one of the men shouted wearing an auror badge shouted. "Dementors have been coerced away from Azkaban! We believe they may be headed for Hogwarts as it was the last place they were posted."

"No need to worry, Auror Shacklebolt, the problem has already been dealt with," Dumbledore replied calmly.

"Headmaster, I do believe these dementors are… dead," Snape called from where he and Flitwick were examining the three dementors Harry's Patronus had caught.

"Impossible," Shacklebolt said, shaking his head. "Dementors can't be killed."

"If I may, Mister Auror, there has never been any official documentation regarding anything to do with the life cycle of dementors," Willhelmina countered. "It's entirely possible that the strength and potency of Mister Potter's Patronus charm could have not just counterbalanced their negative energy, but overloaded it with his own positive force."

"Remarkable!" Professor Flitwick squeaked. "I have never seen a corporeal Patronus this powerful before!" Reaching out a hand, he ran it along the belly of the shining wyvern that was still standing protectively over Harry and laughed giddily when he pulled it back. "Simply remarkable! Mister Potter has somehow produced a corporeal Patronus so substantial that it is in fact an actual solid!"

"Looks like I found my guinea pig for practice duels," a man Harry recognised from his readings as Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody said, flicking open a flask and taking a hearty swig. Harry frowned as he smelled some sort of potion within the flask but couldn't, at the moment, think of which one.

"If it's alright with you all," Harry said, drawing everyone's attention. "I think I'd like to simply get back to the school and sleep this off before dealing with anything else."

As if summoned by his desire to leave, the two thestrals that had been strapped to the carriage and fled when it was attacked swooped in out of nowhere and landed next to Harry, nuzzling him while Zephyr flew down and landed on his shoulder. Harry smiled and patted the pair of creatures on the nose while simply walking with them down the path, ignoring what anyone else was about to say as he thought only of getting in a nice, soft bed, and sleeping off the craziness of the last few weeks.

*(OoO)*

 _Harry opened his eyes and looked around curiously. At first all he could see was darkness. Unending black that spread out in every direction. He couldn't even see his own body through the all-encompassing pitch. A sense of unease filled Harry and he knew, intrinsically, that this wasn't right. He wasn't afraid, but he did understand how someone else might be in his position. Something was just… wrong about the never-ending void that surrounded him. The darkness grew thicker as he thought this, and he suddenly felt like he was suffocating as the shadows surrounding him tried to crush him into nothingness. The ultimatum was clear; submit, or die._

 _Not particularly liking either option, Harry resolved himself to fight. He knew it wouldn't do much. How was he supposed to fight this oppressive umbrage when he wasn't even sure if he had a body to fight with? Either way, he was never going to submit. Especially when the first reaction the darkness gave was to crush him for his supposed impudence. At least he was going to die knowing that he remained true to himself. How many times had he prepared himself for death over his short life? How many times had he asked for the particular brand of pain he was being subjected to end and he be allowed to be reunited with his parents? How many times had he figured that he would probably be better off with them than wherever he was now?_

 _But if that was the case, why was he still fighting? Why did he get out of bed each morning? Why did he even bother inhaling after he finished exhaling?_

 _Slowly, the answers came to him. The whistle of a train. The feeling of a wand in his hands. The sound of wind rushing by his ears. The feeling of tears as he looked at an impossible image in a mirror. Barking laughter and haunted, yet sparkling eyes. An apology made over a photo on a desk. The surge of fear before grabbing a blade and doing what he knew to be right. The cry of a bird and the clap of thunder. The hissing of a friend so close he sometimes wondered where one of them stopped and the other began. The pop of coming whenever beckoned that he now associated with the very concept of loyalty. The protective rage of seeing a friend in pain. The roar of pride as he proved himself against constant obstacles. The desire to not see others suffer as he did. The hope to, one day, live in true freedom._

 _All of these and more were worth it. Even the pain which he had begged Death to release him would serve to make him a better man. He would take his suffering and use it to grow, to better understand others. His curses would help him appreciate his blessings. One day he would let Death take him, but it would be on his terms. He wouldn't allow this darkness to simply crush him because he refused to bend to its will. He would fight. He would win. And, when the day came where Death came for him, he would go with his head held high, sharing stories with the spectre like old friends._

 _As soon as he came to this conclusion, the darkness vanished and was replaced with light. Bright splashes of white exploded all around him while bright kaleidoscopes of colour danced before his eyes. The energy and vibrancy presented to him was astounding and he felt himself relaxing, letting the blinding lights pull him in. As the sheer beauty that was surrounding him seeped into his being, blinding him to everything but its brilliance, fear gripped his heart and he started to fight back. Unlike the darkness, which was blunt in its suffocating presence, the hypnotising spectacle before him was not. The lights caressed him, whispered promises of happiness if he only give in and help it fight of the darkness. Played to his guilt, his selflessness, his nobility, his pride as it filled him with euphoria unlike anything he had ever known. All he had to do was give in. Accept the lights as the one true way. Cast off his anger, his ambition, his integrity, his dignity, and allow the light to steer him down the path he was chosen for._

 _Harry screamed –or, thought he screamed… he wasn't entirely sure if he could, or knew how, or even had whatever it was one needed to scream. This prompted him to fight even more. At least fighting the darkness was easy. In the darkness he knew what he was. Who he was. The light asked for him to give that up, and as tempting as it was, he was held back._

 _Soft, golden waves._

 _Warm, comforting weight._

 _Gentle, even breaths._

 _Vanilla and old parchment._

 _Harry struggled to remember which of these thoughts were associated with which sense. He would not succumb to the darkness, but if worshipping the light meant losing himself, living as a collective, then he would just fight them both. He would find the third option. And if there wasn't one, he would just have to make one, regardless of what these two forces seemed to think._

 _Once again, he felt the oppression around him fade away. This time, he was surrounded by nothing. Not light, not dark. Simply… nothing. Except for himself. Finally he could see himself as he floated nude amongst the vacuum. Patting himself on the back for small victories, and snickering as his recent interest in learning had taught him about the actual correlation between darkness and nothing, and the insanity of being surround by something that was not even that, he gasped as his surroundings changed once more._

 _Harry was now lying in a field of grass, enjoying the warm sun and cool breeze across his naked form. Sitting up, he looked around and saw that he was in a clearing surrounded by trees and that everything seemed… clearer than normal. Colours were sharper, shadows were darker. Details that should have been blurry were almost painfully detailed –especially considering he wasn't wearing his glasses._

 _Looking around, he noticed a figure gliding out of the treeline._

*(OoO)*

Harry woke up feeling surprisingly good. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off his chest and he suddenly felt more assured and confident. That feeling didn't last as he looked around and noticed that he wasn't in the Gryffindor dorm room. Instead he was in a room similar to his one back at Potter Manor. There was only the one single four-poster bed, and all of his belongings were sitting in the corner near a window that provided a nice view of the Black Lake –which was even more confusing considering Gryffindor Tower faced away from the lake. Two doors led out of the room, one opened to reveal a rather luxurious bathroom, and the other to a room that looked like a cross between a common room –with two thick, leather loveseats and a plush couch arranged around an ornate fireplace –and a professor's office. Frowning in confusion, Harry transfigured his boxers and undershirt into a wetsuit and stepped outside only to find himself on what he guessed was the seventh floor, if the tapestry of a knight trying to teach trolls to dance was anything to go by.

 _What a weird prank to start the year off with,_ Harry thought as he made his way down to the Entrance Hall. After a couple laps across the lake, and a friendly wrestling match with the Giant Squid that ended with Harry being launched from the water by a massive tentacle and soaring almost all the way to the shore, Harry returned to the seventh floor where his trunk had been moved to and got dressed before heading down for an early breakfast.

Apparently, he was earlier than he thought, as there was barely anyone in the Great Hall when he arrived. Looking for a familiar face, he smiled and strolled over to the Hufflepuff table, taking a seat across from Cedric, who was reading from one of his textbooks.

Cedric looked up from his book and smiled at Harry. "Hey, Harry. What's with your robes?"

"I'm not sure," Harry replied. He was dressed in regular Hogwarts uniform, but it seemed to be missing any sort of trim, leaving him in simple black and white, even his red and gold ties had been changed. "I woke up this morning in some room on the seventh floor that I've never seen before, and all of my robes had been changed. Figured I'd talk with McGonagall when I saw her this morning."

"Well here's your chance," Cedric said, nodding his head towards the doors, where the woman in question had just entered.

"Good morning, Mister Potter, Mister Diggory," McGonagall said. "Mister Potter, is there a reason you are seated at the Hufflepuff table?"

"Not particularly, Professor," Harry replied. "I saw Cedric sitting here, and decided to join him for breakfast."

"Well, five points to both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor for inter-house comradery," McGonagall said before handing Harry his schedule. "Though, I'm tempted to rescind those points for a lack of proper uniform, Mister Potter."

"Sorry, Professor, I woke up this morning in a room I'd never seen before, and all my school robes had been changed into this," Harry replied as he looked over his schedule in confusion. "Professor, I think you may have made a mistake while writing my schedule."

"The schedules are charmed to write themselves, Mister Potter, so as to ensure no conflicts," McGonagall asked, pondering what Harry meant about waking up in a different room.

"Well, it's just that all of my classes show that I have them with two houses. Some of them, even say that I have them with Gryffindor and another house, which would be redundant, wouldn't it?"

"May I see your schedule Mister Potter?" McGonagall asked.

Harry nodded and handed the schedule over to her. True to what he claimed, Harry's schedule was completely different, as it said he had only two classes each day, one that spent the entire morning, and seemed to be joined with whatever houses were taking that class, and another in the afternoon. Even more confusing was that for each class, his schedule simply said that he had a double class in the subject followed by classes the rest of the time with younger years.

"This is very troubling indeed, Mister Potter," McGonagall muttered. "You said you woke up outside the dorm room, correct? Is it possible you could have taken a wrong turn somewhere along the way? I do seem to remember you being rather exhausted after the excitement of last night."

"I may have been tired, but not that tired, Professor," Harry replied. "I do remember agreeing to help Professor Flitwick by demonstrating my Patronus to his seventh year class at some point, but after that I went straight to Gryffindor Tower. You can even ask the Fat Lady."

"Blimey, Harry, you can do a Patronus?" Cedric asked, eyes wide with awe.

Harry chuckled sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah. I couldn't get it to become corporeal until last night, though. Too much power, not enough focus."

"Harry, I believe you and I need to go and visit the Headmaster concerning your scheduling mishap," Professor McGonagall declared.

Harry nodded and followed her out of the Great Hall, snagging a couple pieces of toast to eat along the way. They walked in silence all the way up to Dumbledore's office, and Harry immediately made a beeline for Fawkes, gently stroking his fiery plumage and listening to the soft melody of happiness Fawkes trilled in response while McGonagall and Dumbledore spoke quietly behind him.

"Harry, my boy, if you could please join us," Dumbledore said, bringing Harry's attention to the two Professors watching him curiously. Harry nodded and walked over to take a seat across from the Headmaster, making sure that his Occlumency shields were firmly in place while portraying complete relaxation. "It would seem, that Hogwarts itself has seen fit to appoint you with the position of Professor's Apprentice."

"Is that why my schedule is the way it is, sir?"

"Indeed it is," Dumbledore replied. "Your classes have been structured so that you will be spending time with members of all houses, first to attend your regular fourth year session, then afterwards as an assistant to the professor with the younger years."

"And Hogwarts itself chose me to do this?" Harry asked skeptically.

"There are many mysteries concerning this school, Harry, as I'm sure your past adventures will confirm. One that is not as often spoken about is the fact that, after centuries of so much high concentration magic permeating these walls, the castle seems to have taken on a sort of sentience. It can be seen in many facets of the everyday life here; from the stairwells, to the sorting hat, to the enchantments that send letters to prospective first years and design the schedules."

"Do you have any idea why it chose me?" Harry asked.

"It's hard to say," Dumbledore replied. "The last person to become a Professor's Apprentice was my predecessor, Armando Dippet, and his tenure as a student at Hogwarts was well over three hundred years ago."

Harry sighed in defeat and slouched in his chair only to snap back up when one of the paintings adorning the walls of Dumbledore's office shouted at him. "Don't sit there grousing! You've been given a great honour, act like it!"

The painting of Headmaster Dippet glared down at Harry angrily, and Harry couldn't help but feel defensive.

"With all due respect, Headmaster Dippet, but I never asked for this. I didn't want to be even more segregated from the other students."

"Albus, what have you been teaching these children?" Armando demanded. "They just seem to get duller with every passing year."

"If you could get to the point, please, Armando," Dumbledore requested calmly.

"Boy, have you ever offered your services to help a professor in class?" Armando asked.

"I offered to come show Professor Flitwick's Charms class my Patronus," Harry said.

"Then there you go. Hogwarts interpreted that as you voicing your desire to teach within these hallowed halls, and upon reviewing your past performances, deemed you fit to take the position."

"But my grades first year and second year were barely above average," Harry argued.

"Are you sure you should be helping educate your fellow students?" Armando asked scathingly. "Of course the school would look at more than just your academic performance! For Merlin's sake, boy there is an award for services to the school with your name on it!"

"Alright, fine," Harry conceded. He may not enjoy being ostracized as he was, but he might as well seize the opportunity he had been presented with. "What are my responsibilities?"

"For the moment, you will have authority similar to a prefect," Dumbledore explained. "You will be expected to do well in all of your classes, and follow whatever instructions the professor you are assisting gives you. Other than that, you should learn about the different ways each of your professors teach and help out your fellow students however you can. Now, I believe you have Transfiguration, so I will leave you and Professor McGonagall to discuss matters further on the way."

"Thank you, Professor," Harry said as he rose to his feet. After giving Fawkes one final pet, he followed Professor McGonagall out of the office and they headed for her classroom.

"Given your marked increase in your academics, it's safe to say you've been studying ahead independently, correct?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes, Professor," Harry replied.

"Harry, whether you like it or not, you are not a regular student anymore. Please, when we are in private, address me by my first name."

"Yes, Minerva," Harry corrected. "As far as the practical aspects, I just started the sixth year texts on Defence, Charms, and Transfiguration, while my theoretical knowledge is about halfway through fifth year in them as well as Herbology, Potions, Runes, and Arithmancy. History, is difficult to say, but I'm fairly confident I could pass my OWL for it, and if Professor Babbage would allow it, I would probably be able to overhaul Muggle Studies." Of course Harry omitted the fact that just because he was only that far in the curriculums for those courses, didn't mean that he wasn't learning things far beyond. It was really just a matter of applying what he already knew and using the foundation he built with his textbooks to form his own understanding of everything else.

"Good, in that case, I will spread the word, and we can get straight to discussing how your first class is going to go. According to your schedule, you will be spending the morning with me, then heading to the dungeons to assist Professor Snape."

"How should I handle the obvious outrage that's going to come with me accepting the position?" Harry asked as they walked into her classroom.

Minerva smiled and placed her hand on his shoulder. "You leave that to me. Now, I'd like you to move one of the desks over near the window, so as to _distinguish_ you from the other students."

Harry nodded, a smile on his face at her emphasis on reminding him that his separation from the other students was a sign of merit. Deciding to be a little cheeky, he silently levitated Minerva's desk over by the window. Minerva opened her mouth to reprimand him, but was stunned into silence as he continued silently waving his wand, conjuring an ornate mahogany desk to replace hers and causing all the drawers on both to open before the contents of the first desk floated through the air to replace the second.

"Was it really necessary to show off like that?" Minerva asked when she regained her wits.

"If you had asked me two years ago, I would have said no, and done what you probably expected me to in the first place," Harry replied. "And if you had asked me last year, I would have said that there was no point of being able to use complex magic to perform mundane things if you couldn't have fun and be a little showy with it."

"And now?"

"Now, I've been doing a lot of independent study and introspection to try to fully understand my magic and how it works, and I've found that when it comes to certain spells –especially in Transfiguration –it feels better to use a spell to its fullest extent than to try and restrict it."

"Setting aside what you said about the feeling of your magic," Minerva said, taking a seat at her new desk. "Would that not come with the risk of overexerting yourself?"

"Not at all," Harry replied. "We have first years for your first class, correct?" Minerva nodded and Harry pulled out his wand summoning the box of matchsticks to him. Taking one out, he quickly turned it into a needle. "The full extent of the spell to turn a matchstick into a regular aluminium needle, does just that. The needle is a simple object, made of a simple material. In contrast, conjuring your desk like I did, requires me to think about several variables. What I meant when I said it feels better was that rather than just thinking about a plain desk and willing the spell to create it, I imagined things like the type of wood I wanted, and the length of screws holding it together while picturing it in my head."

Minerva was astounded at the way Harry was describing the fundamentals between magic and intent, and the simple way he explained it. For a single moment, as he spoke, she saw a glimpse of a man who could teach and guide generations towards greatness. In that moment, Minerva McGonagall resolved to help guide the boy before her into the man she had briefly glimpsed, and pulling out her wand she did something she never would have considered doing before.

"I, Minerva McGonagall, do vow to stand by and support Harry James Potter in all his endeavors. I vow that secrets shared will never be revealed, and knowledge gleamed will always be available. As I will it, so might it be." A bright light shone from the tip of her wand, and Harry stared wide-eyed, shocked at the implication behind what she had just done. Before he could ask, though, the clock chimed and Minerva winked before transforming into a cat and leaping to sit on top of her desk to greet the first years. Harry snickered, and figured he'd join in the fun, casting a quick Disillusion Charm on his desk before throwing his Invisibility Cloak over himself just as the more punctual of the first years started to arrive.


	10. Chapter 10

Harry had never known just how fulfilling teaching could be. Minerva had introduced him to the first years and while they were all a bit star struck, Harry didn't feel as annoyed. In fact, his reputation helped him get through to some of the kids once they started their first Transfiguration assignment. Before he knew it, the class was over and Minerva was assigning the first essay on the laws of Transfiguration. She was about to dismiss them when Harry saw the horror-struck looks on many of the first years' faces and was struck with a sudden idea.

"Professor McGonagall, before you dismiss them, do you mind if I say something?" Minerva looked pleasantly surprised and nodded to him while the entire class turned their attention on him. "How many of you haven't written an essay before?" He asked. Nearly every hand went up and he suddenly felt even more certain of his impromptu plan. "Alright, well, my office is on the seventh floor, across from the tapestry showing a wizard trying to teach trolls ballet. If any of you need help, or want a quick lesson on how to write a proper essay, my office door will be open so long as I'm there, which will be most days after dinner. If you need help finding it, I'll try to be in the Great Hall for dinner, and I can lead you there myself."

His chest constricted as many of the first years broke out into grins, and thanked him profusely on their way out.

"I must say, Harry, you never cease to surprise," Minerva remarked as the door closed behind the last of the students. "What prompted you to make such an offer?"

Harry shrugged. "I wasn't allowed to succeed in Muggle primary school, and when I got here and was assigned that first essay, I was afraid that I would fail out because I hadn't been properly educated. Most muggle-born kids probably think that too, as they wouldn't have learned how to write a proper essay for another year or two depending on the school they attended. I figured a quick lecture on how to properly do your homework is probably going to go a long way for a lot of them."

"I wasn't aware that Muggle schooling didn't provide adequate preparation," Minerva muttered. "Thank you, Harry, for offering to make up for our school's failure."

"It's no problem," Harry replied easily. "It's not like I had to swear a magical vow or anything."

Minerva smiled and shook her head, glancing at the clock to see how much of their fifteen minute interlude between classes they had left. "I suppose you're right to be curious about that."

"That's one way of putting it."

"You see, Harry, your activities haven't been as covert as you might think. Dumbledore and I have been aware of your frequent trips into the Chamber of Secrets –though neither of us know what you do in there, as you have done quite an exemplary job warding it beyond the simple Parsletongue passwords. As time passed and Albus could not find some way to subtly keep watch over you, I started to question why he was so determined to be involved in your life. When we learned that the wards around your relatives' home had shut down, it became clear that you had not been there for some time. What truly made me question the actions of the man I have loyally followed for so long was when he explained that the wards were made using Blood Magic –an extremely dangerous and taboo magic –and that I caught Albus mumbling about you slipping his tracking charms, something that is also illegal to cast on a minor. Today, I saw something in you that inspired me. It was the same thing I once saw in Dumbledore. I knew from discussions with Severus that you had inherited the Potter Family's infamous love for discretion, so I swore that vow of silence and loyalty as a way to show you that I do truly desire to help you, even if you are no longer one of my lions."

"Thank you, Minerva," Harry said, after taking a minute to swallow down the lump in his throat. "It truly does mean a lot to me that you would do that, I promise to never willingly betray your trust and loyalty."

Minerva smiled as the clock chimed, and they turned to greet the next class. By the time the fourth year Gryffindors and Hufflepuffs arrived for the last class before lunch, word had already gotten around most of the school about Harry's new position. Harry had spent the fifteen minute interludes between classes filling Minerva in on the most relevant information, including his political and legal status, Sirius' secret exoneration, his animagus abilities and the werewolf attack, and introducing her to Zephyr while showing her a peak of Kyddris in his tattoo form. To her credit, Minerva had at least given him the chance to explain why he was technically smuggling a XXXXX-Class magical beast into the school, before exploding about the irresponsibility of his actions. She also conceded the point that the Acromantula colony living in the forest and the basilisk that had been terrorising the school were bigger threats than a friendly dragon who generally spent most of his time as either as a tattoo or hunting in the forest.

Once the door opened and the fourth years saw him sitting with Minerva, talking like colleagues, the cries of outrage Harry had been expecting all day finally started up.

"So he abandons his house and gets a shiny new bullshit position as teacher's pet?" Seamus yelled out. "How is that fair?!"

"Mister Finnegan!" Minerva thundered. "You and the rest of your classmates will sit down, and listen silently to what I have to say, or I will start having others join you in the detention you just earned yourself alongside the twenty points from Gryffindor for disrespecting a teacher."

"But, Professor, he's not a teacher," Hermione argued.

Harry restrained a sad sigh at the spectrum of negative emotions on his former housemates' faces while the Hufflepuffs didn't look particularly pleased either.

"Professor Potter –" Harry really liked the ring to that "–was given the position of Professor's Apprentice by Hogwarts herself. If the school has decided that he has earned his position, then who are you to argue? He has already proved to me over the course of the morning that he is more than capable of assisting me in teaching, and you'll swiftly find that you will learn quite a bit from him if you give him the chance."

"What could he have to teach us?" Ron demanded. "We're in the same bloody year!"

Something seemed to click in Harry at that moment. Ever since he woke up that morning, he had been more at ease and confident than ever, and now as he looked out across his former peers, that feeling strengthened. Ron and Hermione were supposed to be his friends. So why were Neville and Susan the only ones who looked remotely proud for him? This wasn't something he had done when he was a baby and couldn't remember. This was a privilege and responsibility bestowed upon him by the school his ancestors had helped build for the various trials he had overcome and magical prowess he had demonstrated.

He had earned this.

"Five points from Gryffindor for disrespectful language, Weasley," Harry said firmly as he stood to his feet. Ron looked like he was about to explode, and opened his mouth, but Harry cut him off. "I may be the same age as you all, but I have been given this position for my skills, among other things. But, seeing as those are what you're questioning," he turned to face Minerva with a mischievous smile on his face. "Professor McGonagall, as it is your subject, what will I have to do to prove I am proficient enough to assist in teaching fourth year Transfiguration?"

Minerva hummed in thought for a moment before getting a wicked idea of her own. "Perhaps some Human Transfiguration?"

Harry smirked and nodded while Hermione and a few others gasped as he tapped his head with his wand and transfigured himself into a perfect copy of McGonagall in her cat form and hopping up to sit on her desk. He had been tempted to use one of his own Animagus forms –as he had been practicing over the summer to transform into the two creatures that made up Nightfire –but figured it would be better to keep that to himself while still proving he could do both the Human, and Trans-Species Transfiguration.

"A very accurate impersonation, Professor Potter," Minerva said, tapping him on the head with her own wand. "Hopefully this is enough to prove to you all that Professor Potter has the skill to assist you in class?"

"Blimey, Harry, that was bloody brilliant!" Neville exclaimed, breaking the tense silence that had fallen over the classroom.

Harry grinned and nodded to his friend. "Thanks, but I'm afraid I gotta take another five points from Gryffindor for your language, Longbottom."

Neville blushed and bowed his head while Minerva looked quite proud beneath her stern visage. The rest of the class passed with little trouble, though many of the Gryffindors were still rather cool with Harry.

Harry helped Minerva clean up, and decided to head down to the kitchens to eat with Dobby, rather than deal with the riot that was awaiting him in the Great Hall. He smiled as he arrived at the picture of fruit at the same time Cedric exited the Hufflepuff common room.

"Hey there, Professor Potter," Cedric said with a teasing smile on his face. "I hear you've gone and gotten yourself quite the promotion."

"Would you believe me if I said that I did not ask for this?" Harry asked, a smile on his face.

"You know, in your case, I would," Cedric replied before waving and heading up to the Great Hall.

Harry smiled and entered the kitchen where he invited Dobby and any of his fellow elves who were not working at the moment to join him for a bite to eat. He was surprised by how fun the house elves could be, as they laughed and joked amongst each other like one great big family. Dobby even introduced Harry to several of the friends he had made while working there during the school year, and one of the older elves, Blanche, actually thanked him for volunteering Dobby's help to the school when not catering to Harry. Harry smiled and told her it was no problem before heading to the greenhouses where he would be spending his afternoon helping Professor Sprout. Time flew by as he helped with all sorts of manual labor between assisting the students and before Harry knew it, he had worked up quite a sweat and classes were finished for the day. Taking another glance at his schedule to make sure he had everything for his next day's classes, Harry noted that he had one more hour block each day after classes were over in the Hospital Wing. Figuring that he could definitely use some formal teaching in healing magic, and that he did genuinely enjoy Madam Pomfrey's company during his many visits, he shrugged his shoulders and made his way there.

Madam Pomfrey seemed to be expecting him, and greeted him with a smile before setting him to another hours grunt work while testing him to see where his level of knowledge was in her field. Once their hour was up, Harry made his way to his office on the seventh floor and quickly showered before opening his office door (after placing just about every non-lethal security ward he could think of) and sitting down at his desk to pen some letters. Half an hour later, he was stretched out on the couch while Zephyr perched himself on a stand not unlike Fawkes' that Harry swore hadn't been there earlier. Harry was reading from his grimoire, lightly skimming his copy of the fourth year Charms class so as to better prepare himself for tomorrow when he heard sniffling and a knock on his door. Sitting up he saw two second year girls standing outside his office. One was from Slytherin, and the other Hufflepuff, and Harry recognised them from his Transfiguration class that morning.

"Hello, ladies," he said softly, noting the tear marks and puffy eyes on the Hufflepuff girl's face, and the black eye and limp that the Slytherin was sporting as she held her friend around the shoulders. "Please, come in and sit down."

As they came in, Harry couldn't help but think that the Slytherin girl looked strangely familiar. "Now, can I ask what happened here?"

"Tori and me were going to come and see if you would help us with our Transfiguration homework," The Hufflepuff girl sniffed. "But then some older students started calling me names, and-and when Tori told them to stop, they-they-they…"

"Didn't do anything," Tori interrupted. "I told you Emily, I just tripped on my way back to you after I told them off."

Harry frowned at the look in Tori's eyes. Clearly she was lying. But why? Then he remembered what Daphne had told him nearly a year ago, and a burning rage filled him. He was halfway decided to go and hunt the ones who did this down, when his more rational side kicked in and he questioned what good it would do. Tori would still be hurt, and if Daphne's stories were true, then there was a chance that he would just make things worse.

"Emily, the names they called you, was one of them Mudblood?" Harry asked quietly. Emily nodded sadly and studied her swinging feet. "Do you have any magical parents, Emily?"

"M-My parents are both magical," Emily whispered. "But my mum is a muggle-born."

"Really?" Harry asked, playing up his interest in that fact just a bit. "So was mine!"

"Really?" Emily asked disbelievingly. Tori also looked extremely interested to learn this fact.

"Absolutely. She was a muggle-born and she was considered one of the brightest witches of her generation. Plus, there are tons of famous witches and wizards who are half-bloods, just like us."

"There are?"

Harry nodded. "Yup. In fact, Professor Dumbledore and all of the Heads of House are half-bloods."

"Really?" Tori asked disbelievingly.

"Definitely," Harry replied. "Granted, Professor Flitwick is half goblin, but the fact still remains. And you know who else is a half-blood?"

"Who?" Emily asked, her earlier sadness almost completely forgotten.

"The git who gave me this," Harry said pointing to his forehead. Both Tori and Emily gasped before Tori suddenly went on the defensive.

"There's no way!"

"He even went here," Harry continued. "You can see his name in the Trophy Hall on an award he got fifty years ago. Back then, though, his name was just Tom. He didn't like how normal it was, though, so he changed it."

"But all the people who follow him are…"

"That's right," Harry said, nodding. "That's why he keeps it a secret. So that the people who actually do believe what he says will follow him."

"Wow…" Emily muttered.

"Now, why don't I walk you girls back to your common rooms and you can come see me after dinner for help with your Transfiguration."

Both girls nodded and Harry led them out of his office, closing the door behind him and listened to them tell him about their first day. They mostly stuck to the less populated halls and went to the Hufflepuff common room first where Harry flagged down a prefect and told them to bring her inside. Once Emily was gone, Harry turned to Tori and drew his wand, healing her eye and leg with a few muttered spells.

"Tori, I'm going to give you three options," Harry said firmly once he was sure they were out of earshot. "You can either tell me what really happened and who did that to you, we can go to Professor Snape and you'll tell him, or you can serve detention for lying to me."

"But that's not fair!" Tori protested. "We have to-"

"Present a united front," Harry finished for her. "I'm aware. I'm best friends with a Slytherin. That being said, assaulting a student is beyond wrong, and by not telling someone, you're just endangering yourself and your friends."

"I'm endangering them if I do tell them!"

"Maybe," Harry conceded. "But by not telling anyone, you're guaranteeing that they'll hurt people again. If you do, though, we can take steps to make sure it doesn't happen again."

"Why are you even doing all this?" Tori asked bitterly. "Weren't you a Gryffindor before the school chose to put you in this position?"

"I don't care about House rivalries," Harry stated firmly. "I was bullied as a kid as well, and I couldn't do anything about it. Now I'm in a position to make sure the same doesn't happen to others, and I will."

Tori stood silently for a couple moments considering his words, weighing her options, and examining him with a familiar look in her eye. She was trying to figure out whether he could be trusted or not. Finally she seemed to make up her mind, and the confidant front she had been putting on since escorting her friend to his office fell and she seemed to shrink in on herself.

"Can you take me to see Professor Snape, please?" She asked quietly.

Harry grinned and nodded as he placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a comforting squeeze.

Once he had escorted her to Snape's office, and waved off both of their thanks, he made his way back to his office, merrily ignoring the looks the other students were giving him.

Once dinner rolled around he headed down to the Great Hall and was struck by the question of where he would sit. He technically didn't have a house to sit with anymore, and he doubted that they would make him sit up at the professors' table. Of course, Neville at least would welcome him back at Gryffindor table, even if most others didn't, but the part of Harry that seemed to have really come forward since waking up this morning said that it might be more fun to make a statement. Mind made up, he strolled into the Great Hall and quickly scanned it before making a beeline for the Ravenclaw table, where he noticed a blonde girl, around his age sitting next to Parvati Patil. By the time the entire Great Hall had stopped to stare at him, he was already seated and filling his plate with food.

"Evening, Parvati," he said casually. "How's your first day been?"

Parvati seemed to catch on and quickly recomposed herself as she smiled at him. "It's been good, Harry, thank you. What's it been like helping Professor McGonagall?"

"Pretty scary at first," Harry admitted. "But as soon as the first years started working, I kinda just clicked, you know? By the end of it, I was actually having quite a bit of fun."

"That's good to hear," Parvati replied. "My sister said you were quite the showman during her Transfiguration course."

"It wasn't that impressive," Harry replied modestly. "I just quickly turned myself into a cat to show that I know what I'm talking about. It's a good thing Professor McGonagall was there to turn me back, else it would've been a pretty embarrassing demonstration."

By now the students all around them were slowly getting back to their meals and the buzz of conversation filled the Great Hall once more as they saw that Harry wasn't about to even acknowledge their singling him out in any way. Dinner passed rather pleasantly, with Harry feeling especially good when a shot of happiness and pride filled him from where Daphne was sitting at the Slytherin table. Harry smiled and winked at her, ignoring the glares he was still getting from many inside the houses of snakes _and_ lions. The blonde girl who had been sitting next to Parvati had turned out to be a fourth year named Luna Lovegood. She was a tad quirky, but Harry genuinely enjoyed hearing about the strange creatures she and her father tracked down, and the convoluted theories that her father's magazine _The Quibbler_ published. Before long, several first years had come up to him and Harry turned to address them, a warm smile on his face at the many expressions of shyness he saw.

"I suppose you all want me to show you where my office is?" He asked. He didn't receive much more than a few mumbled affirmatives and some nods, but he grinned regardless and stood up, grabbing his bag. "It's been great speaking to you both. I'll see you in class." With that he called for the first years to follow him and led them up to his office, showing them around a few other useful places in the school along the way. When they arrived, there was already a gaggle of students hanging around Harry's office, and he was worried about their not being enough room. His worries were abated though, when he opened his door and saw that his office had somehow transformed into a classroom, complete with desks and chalkboard. The first years all quickly sat down, but Harry made them stand up and rearrange themselves so that there were at least one person from two different houses at each three-person desk.

When they finally all left, thanking him on the way, Harry walked over to one of the couches, which he hadn't even noticed during his little tutoring session, and flopped himself down on it with a sigh. He spent another hour and a half working on his own studies, before retreating to his new room and getting ready for bed. As he lay down to sleep, he felt a surge of affection come from Daphne and pondered what must have happened before shrugging and sending her back a feeling that he was happy for her and closing his eyes.

*(OoO)*

The rest of the month passed with talk around the school either centered around Harry and his new position, or the apparent tournament between Hogwarts and two other schools that would be arriving on Halloween. Harry generally ignored it and quickly fell into a routine where he would wake up, exercise, and eat an early breakfast before heading to whichever class he was assisting in to help however he could while usually discussing his personal studies with the professor in question. Then he would help out with demonstrations and the like when the classes arrived, before circulating the class to help out wherever he could with individual work. After that, he would spend some time helping the professor clean up before heading to either his office or the kitchens for lunch. After lunch he would repeat the morning's activities with his second professor of the day, before heading down to help Madam Pomfrey. The final two hours of the day were spent training, then at dinner he would alternate which table he sat with, and hanging out with his friends before retiring to his office, making sure to leave his door open for anyone that wanted to join him for some studying. Normally Daphne would join him, and sometimes assist with some of the younger years that came for homework help. For some reason, she had become much more affectionate with him, and though Harry had asked, she would simply shrug and say she had no idea what he was talking about. Harry didn't complain, though, as he was always happy to spend time with his best friend, either alone, or in the company of their other friends and the younger years. After two hours of providing a sort of homework help center, Harry would evict the younger years and close his door to everyone but his close friends or a professor who wanted to ask something of him for their lesson.

Despite the increased workload, responsibilities, and scrutiny from those around him, Harry couldn't help but think that life at Hogwarts had never been better. Even the full moon couldn't put a damper on his mood as it now meant that Daphne and he were going to spend the night camped out in his office. He was impressed with his progress gaining control of his monthly transformation, as when he fell asleep against Daphne on the ground in front of his fireplace, he was still human. It wasn't until he woke up the next morning curled up around her, with her face buried in his mane that he noticed that he must have transformed sometime during the night.

By the time Halloween came, the school had finally gotten used to Harry's place as a Professor's Apprentice (with the exception of a handful of people from his year), and Harry himself was outside helping Hagrid and Willhelmina teach a class of fourth years about unicorns, having thrown himself into everything he was doing so as to not have think about the events that had happened thirteen years before.

"Finally, a real magical creature instead of all those ghastly monsters that oaf makes us study," someone muttered amongst the group of Gryffindors.

Harry narrowed his eyes as he saw Hagrid sigh while Willhelmina patted his arm.

"Professor Hagrid," Harry called from his position next to the unicorn who was munching on the corner of his robes.

"Yes Ha –er, Professor Potter?" Hagrid replied.

"Between a unicorn and, say, a hippogriff, which would be more dangerous for Miss Patil to approach without the proper precautions?"

"Well, a hippogriff, I s'pose," Hagrid replied uncertainly.

"And between an acromantula and a pixie, which would be better if Miss Patil needed to harvest potions ingredients?"

"An interesting question, Professor Potter," Willhelmina answered, catching on to where Harry was going with this line of questioning. "The obvious answer is the acromantula. Pixie wings are useful in some weaker joy potions, but you only get one pair of wings per pixie, whereas acromantula venom is exceedingly rare due to the dangers involved with harvesting it, but is used in all sorts of powerful potions. Plus the creature does not necessarily need to be killed in order to harvest its venom, meaning you could theoretically harvest multiple samples."

"I see," Harry replied. "And if Miss Patil were to come across say, a harpy without having studied giant chameleons?"

"I daresay that Miss Patil would fall for the harpy's enchantment, having not learned the basics behind it."

At this point, Padma was standing with bright red cheeks as she stared at her feet in shame.

"I didn't mean anything by it," she muttered petulantly. "I just meant that I was happy to finally get to learn about something like a unicorn."

"By something like a unicorn, you wouldn't happen to mean something you found visually appealing, would you, Miss Patil?" Harry asked, not needing an answer. "Here's the thing about that. The world is filled with all sorts of things that aren't what you would classify as 'pretty'. And even many of the ones that are, are just as dangerous. We've been blessed with being part of a huge world filled with fantastical creatures, and Professor Hagrid goes to rather extreme lengths to give you glimpses of them. Not just for your safety should you run across one, but so that you can appreciate the majesty of creatures that have a closer connection with the magic all around us. So, the next time you feel like insulting one of your professors, and the subject he teaches, I recommend either doing it outside of earshot, or stopping and thinking about what you're going to say first. Otherwise, next time, I'll do more than take fifteen points from Gryffindor." Hagrid quickly dismissed the class after that and Harry decided to stay with him rather than head up for lunch.

Plus the unicorn had eaten a hole through his robes.

"Blimey, 'Arry, I appreciate what ye did there, but do ye really think it was necessary?" Hagrid asked.

"Hagrid, you're not just my friend, but you're also our professor. If any other professor had been here, they'd have done the same," Harry replied.

"Harry's right, Professor," Parvati said, having hung back while her sister stormed back to the castle. "The only way to get through to my sister is to not put up with her. There are many of us that think your classes, while a little on the dangerous side, are really quite interesting. There aren't many places where you can see so many rare and exotic creatures together. Let alone get a chance to study them."

"Thank ye, Miss Patil," Hagrid said gratefully. "It means a lot that ye enjoy me classes. I'll be sure to try and take better care to make sure the critters don't hurt any o' ye in the future too."

Parvati smiled and waved to Harry before running back to the school. Harry helped Hagrid clean up and gave the unicorn one last pet before retiring to his office, which he had figured out changed according to whatever he needed, providing a rather good training ground to practice hone his skills. He spent the rest of the day in his office, for once leaving his door closed after dinner as he, Zephyr, and Kyddris sat quietly in front of a roaring fire.

Tomorrow he would greet the students from the other schools, but just for this one night, he would relish in his newfound solitude.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: It was brought to my attention that the names of the Patil sisters were mixed up. Thank you for telling me, and at some point, I'll make sure to go back and fix that. In the meantime, there names have been fixed, and just to be clear, the sister in Gryffindor (Parvati) was the one Harry was supposed to have called out in the last chapter.**

The day after Halloween, Daphne was climbing the stairs to the seventh floor to fetch Harry. She had noticed that he would sometimes lose track of time with his personal training, especially on Fridays, and was determined to drag him down to dinner when she ran into Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey.

"Miss Greengrass, just the girl we were looking for," McGonagall said.

"Is there something I can help with, Professor?" Daphne asked.

"Yes, it would seem that Mister Potter has neglected to key us into the wards he placed around his office. Would you be so kind as to escort us to see him?"

"I don't see why not," Daphne replied. "I was about to go get him for dinner anyways. He tends to lose track of time when he's training."

"Training?" Madam Pomfrey asked. "Training for what?"

"Nothing in particular," Daphne replied vaguely. "He seems to have taken an interest in improving himself, as well as testing certain theories that he won't divulge."

"That sounds awfully dangerous, Miss Greengrass," McGonagall said. "I'm not sure I like the idea of him experimenting with magic unsupervised."

"With all due respect, Professor, there's not a lot you could do to stop him. Harry's curiosity and desire to understand the world around him are only matched by his wish to make the world a better place. Antagonising him for his pursuit of knowledge will only push him away, which would make my life significantly more difficult considering the amount of time I've put into getting him to open up to me."

"Even so, Miss Greengrass, Minerva has a point," Madam Pomfrey countered. "Unsupervised experimentation with magic has historically led most wizards towards one of two outcomes; premature death, or a spot in the history books with the other Dark Lords."

Daphne considered her words as she turned to the door and said the password to allow her entry.

"Sunshine."

Pushing open the door, Daphne, Poppy, and Minerva were all forced to duck as a stream of fire shot over their heads, followed by the body of one Harry Potter. Standing on the other side of the training room was a goblin and none other than Sirius Black, while a ten-foot dragon and four-winged bird took up positions on the sides of the room.

"Your surroundings, Harry, mind your surroundings," Griphook lectured. "Listen to your magic, let it guide you."

Harry nodded having returned to his feet and charged in, wand in one hand, and, to the shock of his spectators, a sword in the other. They watched as he ducked a swipe of the dragon's tail and repelled a bolt of lightning from the thunderbird before engaging Griphook and Sirius in a rather fierce duel that included both wizard and muggle combat. The match came to an end when Sirius managed to hit Harry in the shoulder with a powerful spell that sent him sliding across the ground before coming to a stop in front of Griphook, who held his sword to Harry's neck.

" _What is going on here?!"_ Minerva shouted, drawing the attention of the three duelists and two creatures, all of whom looked sheepish.

"Minerva, Poppy!" Harry yelped, scrambling to his feet. "What are you doing here?"

"What are we doing here?" Poppy asked scathingly. "What are you doing here?"

"Griphook, and Sirius were just helping me with some training," Harry explained sheepishly before throwing a dirty look at Daphne.

"Don't look at me like that," Daphne said coolly. "I thought you were just up here practising spells, not fighting to the death."

"Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, lovely to see you both again," Sirius said politely, bowing to them both.

"Mister Black, what are you doing in this school?" Poppy demanded. "I have half a mind to call Dumbledore here right now to apprehend you!"

"There's no need for that, Poppy," Minerva said. "While it's not well known, Mister Black was cleared of all charges. Though, I should think that his participation in this tomfoolery would warrant repercussion."

"With all due respect, Professor," Griphook said. "We take every precaution when helping Harry when training, and these sessions are only once or twice a week."

" _There is a dragon standing not twenty feet from you!"_ Poppy screeched.

"Kyddris wouldn't hurt a fly unless it had threatened Harry," Sirius replied.

"I'm afraid he's right," Minerva sighed. "The dragon is his familiar."

"Of course it is! And you," she whirled around to point an accusing finger at Zephyr, "if you're not his familiar, what are you doing riding around on his shoulder all day?"

 _Mind your tone, human,_ Zephyr replied icily. _I am the Young One's guide._

"And it talks! Harry, are you just going around adopting whatever dangerous creature you run into?!"

"No, sometimes he shoves a sword through their skulls," Daphne muttered, snickering at the betrayed expression on Harry's face.

"Not cool Daphne," Harry muttered before turning to the two women. "Professor McGonagall, Madam Pomfrey, after this summer especially, both of you should know how dangerous it is out there. There are no rules against training to better myself for when I have to face those dangers. Kyddris is my familiar, and Zephyr breaks no more rules than Fawkes."

Both Minerva and Poppy looked conflicted and shared a silent discussion before Minerva sighed in defeat. "This discussion isn't over Harry, but for the time being, so long as you are being safe, both of us can withhold from telling anyone of what happened here."

"Thank you," Harry said as he turned back to Sirius and Griphook. "Thanks you two. I'll see you again soon."

"You fought well, Lord Potter," Griphook said bowing to Harry. "I look forward to our next match."

"Stay safe, pup," Sirius grunted, pulling Harry into a tight hug before he and Griphook turned to walk through a door that hadn't been there a moment ago.

"Where did they go?" Daphne asked as the door vanished.

"There's a tunnel that leads to Hogsmeade," Harry replied, quickly shedding his shirt which he had just noticed was smoking and running through another door to his quarters. Daphne restrained a gasp as she saw the multitude of scars covering his back while Minerva stiffened and Poppy shook her head sadly.

"Great Merlin," Minerva muttered. "What has he been doing to warrant all of those?"

"He got them before coming to Hogwarts, Minerva," Poppy said. "Other than that, he won't say."

"Please don't say anything," Daphne pleaded. "He keeps them covered for a reason. It's only because he feels safe in here that he did that. If you try to push him for answers, he's just going to shut down."

Both women nodded sadly as Harry walked out dressed in his elegant monochromatic robes. "So what was it you all needed to see me about anyways?"

"I was just coming to get you for dinner," Daphne said. "This one's mandatory because they're gonna be drawing names out of that fiery cup."

"Right," Harry nodded. "Finally something to get everyone's attention off of me."

"Madam Pomfrey and I simply had a question regarding Monday's classes," Minerva explained. "But it can wait until after dinner."

Harry nodded and followed the three of them out of the training room, Zephyr shrinking to take his place on Harry's shoulder, while Kyddris transformed into a stream of light that became his tattoo form. They made their way down to the Great Hall, where Daphne was forced to go sit with the Slytherins while Harry went over to the Ravenclaw table when he saw Fleur waving at him. Daphne frowned as Harry sat next to Fleur and started chatting amicably with her, but quickly schooled her expression into her usual icy mask while chastising herself for her petty jealousy.

 _He's physically incapable of being attracted to anyone else,_ she reminded herself guiltily. _The least you could do is not go crazy just because he's friends with another girl._

Dinner passed quickly, with Daphne trying her best to distract herself by talking with Tracey and Blaise while ignoring the way the Durmstrang students were eyeing her. It was bad enough that the rest of Slytherin House pretty much acted like they didn't exist –Harry's friendship, and his new position having added a layer of security –but at least most of the boys were well aware of her carefully built reputation as unapproachable. The Durmstrang students eyed her like she was a piece of meat, and it sent a shiver down her spine.

Finally, the food disappeared and Dumbledore called for their attention. Daphne half-listened as Dumbledore and the delegates from the Ministry went on and on about the dangers and glory of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Frankly, she had no interest in the whole thing. She and Harry had only been looking forward to the opportunity for him to get out of the limelight, especially after his appointment to Professor's Apprentice had put him on everyone's radar and pretty much stripped him of most of his friendly acquaintances their age. Granted, the younger years seemed to worship him due to his policy of offering help wherever he could for two hours every day after dinner, but it was clear that he was being seen as more of a younger member of the staff than a part of the student body. On the bright side, Harry seemed to have finally seen how toxic his relationships with Granger and Weasley were, and had finally taken to simply ignoring them whenever he could. He was still quite friendly with the twins, and Neville was one of his closest friends after Daphne herself, but other than that, much of Gryffindor House saw him as a traitor.

Then again, despite his newfound segregation from his fellow students, Harry had seemed to be the happiest he had ever been since the start of the year. He had smoothly adjusted to his position on the line between student and teacher, and his lack of course work allowed for him to continue his own individual studies –provided he make sure that he was already well-versed in the subject (which he was) –and just from the spectacular performance she had seen him put on today, she knew that he was advancing at a remarkable pace, and would soon be a formidable opponent for anyone that threatened him or those he cared about.

She was drawn from her thoughts by the thunderous applause signifying that the three champions had been chosen, and smiled across the tables at Harry, who was now sitting next to Padma, Fleur having gone to the antechamber with Cedric Diggory and Viktor Krum. Unfortunately, her happiness was not to last as the Goblet of Fire suddenly started flaring wildly and a fourth piece of parchment was shot out of it. Dread filled her, and Daphne's heart raced, as she watched the parchment flutter down and Dumbledore snatch it out of the air.

"Harry Potter," he read quietly. All eyes turned on Harry as the blood drained from his face. Daphne could feel the warring emotions within him through their bond, and stood up as Dumbledore called Harry's name once more. Grabbing him by the shoulder, she dragged him across the Great Hall towards the antechamber, scaring off anybody who tried to separate them with a blood-chilling glare. Throwing open the door, she pulled him into the room with the other champions and quickly wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close.

"Harry?" Cedric asked. "Do they want us to come back out?"

"'Arry, what ees ze matter?" Fleur asked softly when they didn't answer.

"I didn't do it," Harry muttered into Daphne's hair. "You have to believe me, I wasn't anywhere near the bloody cup all day."

Daphne shushed him and pulled back just enough to look him in the eye. "It's okay. I believe you. There must've been some sort of mistake. We'll get this all sorted out, you'll see."

Just then, the door flew open and the three headmasters, followed by Professors McGonagall, Snape, and Moody stormed in, arguments and accusations flying while Barty Crouch and Ludo Bagman trailed in behind.

Daphne yelped as Dumbledore crossed the room in a matter of seconds and grabbed Harry by the shoulders, slamming him into the cabinet behind him.

"Harry, did you put your name in the Goblet of Fire?" Dumbledore asked in a dangerously low tone.

Harry, reacting on instinct, raised his hands the moment Dumbledore grabbed him and pushed. There was a pulse of magic as the Headmaster was suddenly sent across the room, and Daphne could see Harry looking all around the room, his expression that of a cornered animal, while an angry Zephyr flapped his wings angrily.

"Harry, it's okay," Snape said calmly. "None of us are going to touch you." He took a cautious step towards Harry, only to back up when Harry's magic further saturated the air, making a nearby bottle explode.

"I think it's clear from his reaction that he didn't put his name in the Goblet," Moody growled.

"Then who did?" Karkaroff demanded.

Daphne ignored the arguments and accusations of the adults as they tried to figure out who had entered Harry in the tournament and slowly walked closer to him, grabbing him by the hand.

"Unfortunately, the Goblet of Fire signifies a binding magical contract," Mister Crouch informed them. "Mister Potter has no choice but to compete."

By now, Harry seemed to be able to reign himself in, soaking up the comfort that Daphne was providing. Only the death grip he kept on her hand betrayed his emotions as he schooled his features and the stifling presence of his magic faded as he turned to the delegates from the Ministry. "If I have to compete," he said hoarsely. "Then I want it made clear that Cedric is the Hogwarts champion, not me."

"Harry, you don't have to do that," Cedric said sadly.

"No, you're the one who entered properly. You're the one who should represent us."

"Then who will you represent, Potter?" Moody asked.

"Myself," Harry said resolutely. "Someone entered me in this stupid tournament because they wanted to see me killed. That's not going to happen. I'm going to survive this tournament, and I'm going to do my best to prove to whoever did this that they made a mistake thinking they could kill me through such cowardly means."

Minerva and Severus beamed with pride, while the other champions all seemed to respect the resolution of a boy who had been thrown into a situation he was unprepared for and yet still seemed determined to come out on top.

"I wait eagerly to compete against you," Krum stated waking up to Harry and shaking his hand.

"May the best man win, Harry," Cedric added, a smile on his face.

"After zee World Cup, I look forward to proving myself against you," Fleur finished.

*(OoO)*

Harry stood in his office, breathing heavily. After Bagman had told them that the first task would be held on the twenty-fourth of November and would involve facing the unknown, he had stormed out and walked back to his office, ignoring the stares and jeers of the other students. Once inside, he finally allowed himself to let go of his feelings. He threw his hands out, not even bothering to draw his wand as he hurled spell after spell at the never-ending series of targets the office provided him. As he whirled around to destroy a large, black cabinet, he felt a presence join him in his office and conjured a sword with a though, his desire for action, for the feeling of truly beating down his enemy with his own strength, the only thing keeping his mind from calling on Gryffindor's sword.

Sirius ducked the sword swing while Remus jumped back, firing a quick stunner, only to witness firsthand just how in tune Harry had become with his bestial side as the spell hit his shoulder and did nothing other than move him back a bit, his arm covered in sleek, black fur. Seeing the feral look in his eye, Sirius conjured himself a blade as well, and shared a look with his oldest living friend before they both charged Harry. A vicious clash of steel and magic then ensued, with Harry holding next to nothing back as he didn't see his godfather and uncle, but threats to be exterminated. Both Sirius and Remus were hard pressed to stand their ground as Harry seemed to be losing control of his animagus, and they were soon fighting an eight-foot tall, bipedal version of Nightfire, armed with a sword and still retaining Harry's ability to cast spells. Eventually, his strength, speed, and raw power won out over their combined experience and skill and both Remus and Sirius were afraid that he would actually follow through with killing him.

They were spared, however, when a scream from the doorway made Harry stop and turn to see Daphne and Severus watching him wide-eyed. Almost immediately, Harry reverted back into his human form, and turned away from the intruders in shame, hurling the sword away with a scream as he sank to his knees. Daphne rushed over and gathered him up in her arms, stroking his back and burying her face in his wild, shoulder-length hair as he wrapped his arms around her waist. They sat like that, in complete silence, while the others surveyed the destruction around the room, especially the sword that had impaled itself up to the hilt in the wall opposite Harry.

Finally, Harry seemed to calm down, and the room immediately cleaned itself up, morphing from the training room that Sirius was used to, to Harry's regular office, complete with fireplace and Firebolt mounted above it. All of them took a seat around the fireplace, with Harry on the couch between Sirius and Daphne.

"We'll get you through this," Sirius said quietly. "You're already well ahead of anyone else your age, and Remus and I will come by every day to help you with your training."

"As will I," Severus stated.

"You aren't alone in this Harry," Daphne whispered. "You have all of us, and your friends –your _real_ friends –will stand by you as well."

"Thanks," Harry mumbled, and they all watched as the room made an unfamiliar book appear in his lap. "Guess it really does give you whatever you need," Harry muttered with a chuckle.

"What's that, Harry?" Sirius asked.

"Hagrid gave it to me after my first year," Harry explained, opening the book and showing a collection of photos involving a man who looked almost exactly like Harry, with the exception of their hair length, eyes, and the fact that Harry no longer wore glasses, and a woman with a kind, shining smile, flaming red hair, and kind eyes that Daphne had only ever seen in one person. "Before this, the only time I had ever seen them was in the Mirror of Erised."

"They would be so proud of you, Harry," Sirius muttered.

*(OoO)*

Just over a week later, Harry had recovered slightly from the emotions that came with yet again being dragged into a potentially lethal situation. Normally he would be completely fine with throwing himself into a dangerous situation, however, unlike before, this time it was not of his own accord. His past adventures, while thrilling in hindsight, had never been about anything other than doing what he knew to be right at the time. Now, he was going to be facing off against _four_ potentially lethal tasks, since Bagman had announced with entirely too much enthusiasm that an increase in competitors had to warrant an increase in trials.

As he bade farewell to the third years he and Professor McGonagall had been helping, and prepared for the coming second year class, he idly swished his wand through the air rearranging the desks as they had been moved to give the students room to practice turning possums into doors. His mind was not exactly on what he was doing, as he was thinking about the wand-weighing ceremony he had to attend later that day, as well as the fact that he would be facing some unknown challenge in just over two weeks' time.

"Harry?" Minerva asked from her seat behind her own desk. "Could you answer something for me?"

"I can try," Harry replied easily as the last of the desks danced into place and the seats tucked themselves in.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've noticed that you seem strangely proficient with your wandless and silent casting. In fact, it seems as though you're skills and spell-work exceed the level they are at when you perform a spell with the precise movements and incantation."

"Oh, that," Harry mumbled. "It's just a little something I've picked up through my studies."

"But it goes against everything we know about magic!" Minerva countered. "However did you just _stumble_ upon this kind of skill?"

"It's not really a skill," Harry corrected. "I can't quite explain it, but it more has to do with just changing the way I think about things."

"Well, you and I are going to need to sit down and properly discuss it sometime," Minerva said as the clock chimed and the next group of students. Harry nodded and sat down while Minerva picked up on her lecture before setting the second years to continue trying to transfigure a series of different objects into goblets. Walking between the students, Harry ignored their whispering as he wandered around offering helpful tidbits where he could. He was somewhat annoyed with how the affair involving the Goblet of Fire had led to all the work he had put into being respected as a Professor's Apprentice going right out the window. Suddenly, whispers and rumors followed him wherever he went, saying that he had cheated his way into his position the same way he had the tournament. Gradually, his anger mounted until the second years were dismissed and Harry sat himself down, breathing deeply as he focused on his Occlumency techniques.

The books he had read from the Potter Library were incredibly challenging, as they were charmed to actually test the reader before they were allowed to read ahead. As a result it had taken Harry quite a while to understand just how to properly clear his mind. At first, he had tried simply pushing everything he was thinking and feeling, and that had worked, for a while. Eventually, the book had started to easily overwhelm him, and because the author –who, after some research, had turned out to be an ancestor of his –had been a particular kind of bastard, every time the book succeeded in breaching his defences, it would hit him with an increasingly irritating stinging jinx, and proceed to scream his thoughts out loud until he managed to throw it out, or thirty minutes had passed.

Finally, after a painfully long day of dealing with screaming books and Sirius' howling laughter, Harry had fallen upon the true secret to clearing his mind. The trick hadn't been forcing down everything he felt, but accepting it. If he allowed the emotion to flow through his mind, and focused on his breathing (something the book would constantly drill him on) he would eventually come to terms with it, and his mind would become clearer, unlike before where it would become more like a vacuum next to a ticking time bomb.

Once he had successfully grappled with his rising anger, Harry opened his eyes to see Minerva smiling proudly at him just before the door opened and admitted the fourth year students. He listened as she went over the basics of the Switching Spell, and walked around as they started attempting the spell. Hermione got it almost right away, as Harry could vaguely remember her having knowledge of the subject in first year, so he awarded her ten points, ignoring the sad look in her eyes as he walked over to Neville, who had somehow transfigured his ears onto a nearby cactus that was sitting on the windowsill.

Harry corrected his mistake with a wave of his wand, and smiled when Neville thanked him.

"I dunno what I'm doing wrong," Neville muttered sullenly. "I could've sworn I did the spell correctly."

"Let me see you do it again," Harry said, watching closely as Neville cleared his throat, and extending his senses into the magic all around him. He frowned as he watched Neville execute the spell perfectly, and yet still wind up causing the door to Minerva's private quarters at the back of the class to explode as a large splinter switched places with the wand in his hand.

"I think I figured out the problem," Harry said as he idly waved his wand in the direction of Minerva's door and summoned Neville's wand to him while the fragments of the door all flew together to seamlessly reconstruct themselves. "This isn't your wand, is it?"

"No, it was my dad's," Neville admitted sadly. Sirius had told Harry about the unfortunate fates of Alice and Frank Longbottom, and Harry couldn't help but empathise with his friend. "My Gran said that I should use it to honour him, since he was such a great wizard and all."

"Her heart was in the right place Neville, but you're only holding yourself back if you don't use a wand that has properly chosen you. If you really want to honour them, don't let sentimentality hold you back from being the best you can be."

Neville nodded and Harry gripped his shoulder when he saw the shine in his friend's eyes. Glancing at the clock, Harry turned to Minerva to tell her that he had to go. She nodded easily, awarding twenty points to Gryffindor for how far Neville had managed to get with the unintentional handicap and promising to personally write to his grandmother about getting him a new wand.

Harry left the class, ignoring the looks on the way out and made his way down to the room where the wand weighing would be taking place. As he descended the stairs, a grin split his face as he saw Sirius standing there, waiting for him with a woman he recognised as Amelia Bones.

"Sirius!" He shouted, sprinting up and wrapping his godfather in a tight hug. "What are you doing here? Isn't it dangerous?"

"That's why I brought Amy, here, with me," Sirius replied. "Remember how we agreed that we were going to stop hiding?"

"And you thought that showing up _here_ would be a good way to announce your innocence?"

"If anything it'll take some of the heat off you," Sirius said. "People will clamor over the story of how the dashing Lord Sirius of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black was wrongly persecuted and sentenced to Azkaban without a trial."

"Or they'll be repulsed at the fact that not even dementors seem to have dented your ego," Madam Bones quipped.

Harry laughed and gave Sirius one more hug before following him and Amelia into the unused classroom. While already fairly quiet, the silence upon seeing Harry companionably walk in with the man supposedly trying to kill him, even now, was palpable, and only broken by the crack of Zephyr appearing in a flash of lightning to perch on Harry's shoulder and rub his head against Sirius' scruffy cheek.

Having his friend and his godfather with him made Harry feel more at ease as a room full of wands were suddenly pointed at him and he drew his own.

"Harry, listen to me," Dumbledore said calmly, a far cry from the strangely agile man that had accosted him the week before. "Whatever this man has told you, it's a lie. I need you to step away from him, slowly."

"I'm going to make this extremely simple," Madam Bones called out, drawing everyone's attention to her as she looked between them all, her own wand raised. "Thanks to Mister Potter providing concrete evidence, and the lack of proper trial, Lord Black has been proven innocent of any and all crimes he was suspected of committing involved with the deaths of James and Lily Potter, Peter Pettigrew, and twelve muggles at the time. As the hunt for the true perpetrator is still ongoing, neither I, Mister Potter, nor the Lord Black will be answering any questions regarding to the case."

"But what is he doing here?" Amos Diggory asked, a mixture of protectiveness and fear layering his tone.

"He's my godfather," Harry replied. "He's here for me the same way you're here for Cedric." He nodded to Cedric, who seemed to have shaken himself slightly of his previous stupor and nodded back.

"If we could get on with it," a woman with long, blonde hair who Harry thought smelled absolutely repulsive, even before the strange perfume she wore, demanded sweetly. "We really would like time to interview the four champions."

"And who are you?" Sirius asked, putting on his best pompous-git impression as he looked down upon her with a disinterested glare.

"R-Rita Skeeter," the woman replied fearfully, despite the assurance Amelia had just made about Sirius actually being a (somewhat) upstanding member of society. "I'm the newest reporter for the _Daily Prophet._ "

Sirius hummed and turned away from her, strolling up to Mister Ollivander and shaking his hand. "Mister Ollivander, it's a pleasure to see you again."

Ollivander returned the handshake, seemingly unfazed by everything that had just happened. "It has certainly been some time, Mister Black. I still remember the day you came into my shop. That ghastly mother of yours was rather impatient as we tried to find you the correct wand."

"Ghastly would be an appropriate description of my biological mother in most situations, sir," Sirius replied smoothly. "Unfortunately, my old cedar and dragon heartstring wand was snapped when they shipped me off to Azkaban."

"Quite the shame," Ollivander replied. "Perhaps you can come and get a new one sometime?"

"It would be an honour, Mister Ollivander," Sirius declared with a bow, drawing his current wand. "I'm afraid this one belonged to a poor soul who made an unsuccessful attempt to withdraw from our shared abode after nicking it from a rather oblivious visitor from the Ministry."

"How tragic. A wand should always be left with its owner after they pass," Ollivander said with a shake of his head before turning to the gathered champions. "Now, I don't want to keep you all any longer than I have to. Ladies first."

Fleur walked up and handed her wand to Ollivander who held it carefully in his hand. "Hmm, nine and a half inches, rosewood, rather inflexible, and –my dear, is this veela hair?"

" _Oui, Monsieur,_ " Fleur responded proudly. "My grandmozzer provided eet 'erself."

"Fascinating," Ollivander murmured, giving it a wave and producing a shower of rose-coloured sparks handing it back to her while Viktor stepped up to replace her. "Now let's see… ten and a quarter inches, hornbeam, with a dragon heartstring core. Quite the rigid wand, Mister Krum, and noticeably thicker than usual. Good for powerful offenses. A Gregorovitch creation I presume?"

Viktor nodded and Ollivander smiled, flicking it and creating a stream of green fire before giving the wand back as he called Cedric back up. "Ah, now Mister Diggory, this is one of mine. Twelve and one quarter inches, ash. This wand is pleasantly springy, Mister Diggory, and the core from a particularly fine male unicorn. In fact, the old boy tried to gore me with his horn after I had plucked the hair from him. Freshly polished, as well, I see."

"Yes, sir," Cedric replied proudly. "I polish it every night, just like you told me."

Harry snorted and Sirius failed to completely restrain a snicker at the unintentional joke, causing Amelia to elbow him in the ribs.

"Grow up," Amelia muttered through grit teeth.

Harry and Sirius both recomposed themselves rather dramatically, grinning when Fleur giggled at their antics while Cedric discretely showed his approval with a single gesture behind his back. Ollivander handed Cedric back his wand after twirling it and creating a bouquet of flowers, and finally it was Harry's turn to go up. Releasing his wand from the invisible sheath on his wrist, Harry handed it over to Ollivander, who gasped as he reverently held the masterpiece before him.

"Mister Potter, I do believe that this is not the holly wand I gave you three years ago," Ollivander said.

"I'm afraid not, sir," Harry said. "That wand broke during the incident at the World Cup. It had been acting up for the past year or so, and turned to dust when I tried to cast a particularly powerful spell."

"I can see why, Mister Potter, this wand… it is a work of art. Thirteen inches, and a fantastic blend of strength and flexibility." The wand was a mixture of dark and light would, swirling around each other to create the impression of mixing fluids. The bottom of the handle was capped with a bright green jewel, and an electric blue fabric wove around it to provide a comfortable grip. Apparently they were making quite a scene as everyone gathered round to get a good look at Harry's wand. "My boy, who made this wand?"

"I did, sir," Harry replied. "With the help of a master, he guided me as I created a personal wand."

"Fascinating," Ollivander murmured. "You actually partook in a crafting ceremony?"

"Yes, sir," Harry replied. "It was an incredible experience."

"It must have been. Tell me, how did you bond the ebony and ash together in such a fashion?"

"I used the nectar from the acacia flower."

"Why not the sap from the tree itself?"

"I didn't want the acacia to overshadow the other components. It took some time, but we managed to distill the nectar into a proper bonding agent."

"Absolutely remarkable," Ollivander whispered. "Between the loyalty of the ash, and the power of the other two, this wand already shows signs of not obeying any who use it other than its owner. It is not often you see wands with jeweled focuses these days."

"I debated whether or not to use it, but my master convinced me to. Said that it had a particular connection to me. Personally, I think he just wanted it to match my eyes."

Ollivander chuckled and handed the wand carefully back to Harry. "The core, it is safe to assume it comes from your feathered companion?"

Harry nodded. "Thunderbird tail feather dipped in basilisk venom and phoenix tears."

This time gasps rang out amongst everyone as Ollivander quickly handed the wand back to Harry.

"Garrick, please, would you be so kind as to inform us of the significance of such a core," Dumbledore asked.

"Mister Potter, how on earth did you procure these two substances for this?" Ollivander asked. "Let alone manage to get them to bond properly."

"My blood is the bonding agent," Harry said casually, giving the wand a wave and producing a brilliant pillar of multi-coloured ice, before transfiguring it into ice and causing the sudden sculpture to explode into colourful flakes of snow. "If we're done here, I would really like to get some food before attending to my classes this afternoon." Without another word, Harry spun in place, stopping only to glare at the reporter who had been writing furiously. Another flick of his wand caused her notepad to explode, and she shrieked as the resulting confetti all caught fire. "Miss Skeeter, you are aware that it is rather illegal to publicly document the components of a witch's or wizard's wand without their consent, correct?"

"O-Of course," Rita replied, looking into his burning green eyes somewhat fearfully.

"Just making sure," Harry commented. "Wouldn't want anyone to accidentally do something foolish when the Head of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement herself was in the room."

With that, he casually strolled out of the room, an entirely too cheerful Sirius and a groaning Amelia following behind.


	12. Chapter 12

Predictably, the _Prophet_ had spun the wand weighing ceremony in the worst possible light against Harry. Rita Skeeter made him out to be an emotionally unstable child, and that Sirius was let off on a mixture of technicality and bribery. She went on to say the struggle of coping with everything he'd been through had led him towards dabbling in the Dark Arts, as well as making fantastical claims concerning the impossible. For the most part, Harry just shrugged this off. His reputation at Hogwarts was already fairly dismal after his announcement in the tournament, and several students had taken to sporting crude badges stating _Support Cedric Diggory: The Real Hogwarts Champion_ , before changing to read _Potter Stinks_. Harry rolled his eyes and simply continued going about his business. The only change he had to make was instigating a rule that his open-door policy for the students he helped out was not an invitation to interrogate him about his personal life. The kicker was that he hadn't even been the one to declare it. Tori, the second year Slytherin Harry had helped his first day, had been going to him for help with her Charms work, and when a crowd had gathered in an attempt to get answers from him, she had let off a bout of accidental magic, turning everyone's hair different nauseatingly bright colours as she firmly declared that if they weren't there for school, then to get out, as she was _not_ about to fail Charms because of them.

Harry was just finishing up on his shift in the Hospital Wing, determined to go and train as hard as possible in order to get his mind off the fact that he would be facing an unknown challenge in just over a week.

 _Harry, get to the Forest, quick!_ Kyddris suddenly yelled in Harry's head.

Harry didn't question his familiar, and simply sent him a mental reassurance that he would be there as quick as he could before saying a quick goodbye to Poppy and nearly sprinting out of the Hospital Wing. As he ran, a strange, foreign sense of longing mixed with pain and rage filled him, to the point where he was struggling to maintain control of his animagus transformation when he ran into Daphne.

"Harry?" Daphne asked. "What's wrong?"

"I'm not sure," Harry said. "Kyddris asked me to come to the Forest, but hasn't said anything since, and now there's this weird feeling I'm picking up, and it's not coming from him or you."

Daphne nodded and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him into the nearest empty classroom before calling for Dobby.

"Master Harry's Sunny-Grass called for Dobby?" The small elf asked with a bow, prompting a raised eyebrow from Harry.

"Dobby, can you take us to the Forbidden Forest, please?" Daphne asked. "Kyddris is calling for Harry, and it seems urgent."

Dobby nodded and grabbed them both by the sleeves of their robes before apparating them to Kyddris' location in the Forest, where Harry suddenly collapsed from the onslaught of emotion while a series of thundering roars shook the ground beneath them.

 _"SCUM! FILTH! DESTROYERS OF HATCHLINGS! RELEASE THESE BONDS SO THAT I MAY AVENGE MY BABIES BEFORE JOINING THEM! I WILL TEAR THE FLESH FROM YOUR BONES! BURN YOUR FRAIL BODIES TO ASH! LOWEST OF THE LOW!"_

"Harry," Daphne asked quietly as tears streamed down Harry's normally stoic face while a growling Kyddris nuzzled against him. She had never felt such powerful emotions coming through their bond in the year since it had been cemented. Her attention was drawn in the direction of the roaring as another yowling, screeching scream tore through the air while the forest floor lit up with a brilliant flame, larger than any she had ever seen Nightfire produce, and she wondered how nobody was drawn towards it, even with how far into the massive forest they were.

"What is that?" She asked, hoping against hope that her instincts were wrong.

"Dragons," Harry muttered, the sorrow dripping from his voice. "They brought dragons."

"They expect you to fight a _dragon!_ " Daphne shrieked. "That's completely mental!"

"That's not all. Those are nesting mothers. Those… those _monsters_ took away their eggs so that they would be more aggressive."

Daphne gasped as a dragon roared while Harry did also, and through their bond she experienced something completely new.

 _No! Please, don't take Harry! Take me! Please! Take me instead! I'm begging you!_

"They'll be given back their eggs after the event though, right?" Daphne asked, shoving aside the part of her still screaming about the utter lunacy behind sending a bunch of _kids_ against fully grown, angry, mother dragons, as she focused on reigning Harry's wildly out of control emotions. She could already see black fur starting to sprout on the back of his tightly clenched fists, and small sparks were flashing in the air around him.

"For three of them, maybe," Harry mumbled as yet another roar filled the air. "But not that one. She's a Hungarian Horntail. Her children die if they are separated from her or handled by anything other than her. I can hear her Daphne, she's so sad, and angry, and hurt. She's torn between getting revenge for her children and begging for death, just so she can be with them again. She's… she's going mad from it!"

Daphne listened as the voices of several far-off men shouted stunning spells and the poor creature's roar slowly died down. Her heart ached for the creature –surely her handlers should have known not to separate her from her egg –but as the roaring finally ceased, all she could think about was what would happen if Harry had to face her. She had been with him when he researched various dragon breeds soon after Kyddris had hatched, and knew that, on top of dragons being nearly impossible to kill, the Hungarian Horntail was the most aggressive and dangerous breed. While not as big as Kyddris would eventually be, they did top out at an impressive fifty feel from tip to tail, with the fire they breathed spanning that distance as well. Accompanying its aggressive behaviour were an arsenal of claws, teeth, and spikes ending in a thick, spiked club at the end of its tail.

The thought of Harry facing a fully mature dragon, let alone a psychotic, suicidal one, kept Daphne up almost every night, and other than a brief meeting with Professor Moody the next day, Harry hadn't been seen since finding out what the task was, his professors understandingly excusing him from his responsibilities in class as he spent every waking moment preparing for something no sane person would ever attempt. Not even Daphne had been admitted into Harry's office since he had discovered what his first task would be, but after convincing Dobby to take a quick peek, she had learned that Harry was drilling himself into the ground with the help of Remus, Sirius, Griphook, and Kyddris. This still did nothing to calm her nerves, and it was only thanks to Professor Snape's timely intervention that she hadn't reduced Malfoy to a mere stain on the ground when she heard him boasting about knowing what the first task was and taking bets on how long Harry would last. Her stress had gotten to the point where she had to go to the Hospital Wing, and be given sleeping potions just so she could get a full night's sleep. The very worst part of it all, was that, while she hadn't been able to see Harry, she could still feel him through the bond. His heart broke every time he thought about the dragons being kept from their eggs, and the wyvern part of him that made up half of his animagus exacerbated that. On occasion she would still hear the voice of a woman pleading with an someone to spare Harry's life, and she would always find herself hard pressed not to break down in tears every time. It wasn't until the actual day of the task that she realised what it was exactly that Harry was sending when she woke up sobbing uncontrollably.

"Daphne, what is it?" Tracey asked when she shot up in her bed that morning. The other girls had luckily already left, so it was just the two best friends in the dorm as Tracey rushed over to sit next to Daphne and wrap her arm around her shoulders.

"He remembers," Daphne sobbed. "Tracey, he actually remembers it!"

"What does who remember, Daphne?" Tracey asked softly, gently rocking her back and forth and rubbing her arm.

"Harry, he remembers it. The night… _he_ attacked. He remembers the sound of his mother begging for You-Know-Who to spare him! That's what he's been thinking about. The dragons remind him of his family!" Daphne had quietly informed Tracey, Blaise, Neville, and Susan of what Harry and the others would be facing, and the four of them had been doing everything they could to provide her comfort while Harry did everything he could to make sure he lived through the day.

"I can't imagine what he must be going through, being able to feel what those poor creatures are going through and understand what they're saying," Tracey said quietly as she held Daphne close. Once she had calmed down, they went down to breakfast, where in a surprising show of school unity, Neville, Susan, and, surprisingly, Padma, all sat with her, Tracey, and Blaise at the Slytherin table, glaring at anyone that so much as looked their way.

Far sooner than Daphne would have liked, it was time for the first task, and she numbly allowed her friends to lead her to the arena that had been specifically built for the day's event. She stood there in a daze until she felt a pulse of dread through the bond. Schooling her face into her usual veil of ice, Daphne ignored everything going on around her as she focused on sending every positive emotion she could to Harry. She could feel his gratitude and a surprising amount of resolution, and smiled as Bagman finished describing the goal of the task. Once he finished, seemingly on cue, the first dragon crawled out of a crevice in the rocks around the arena as Cedric exited the tent where the champions were waiting. Idly noting that the dragon was a Swedish Short-Snout, Daphne closed her eyes and tuned out her surroundings once more as she focused on once more exchanging as many positive and supportive emotions as she could with Harry.

The fact that he didn't have to actually kill the dragons was a relief, as the poor creatures simply wished to be reunited with their young, but as Fleur finally charmed her Chinese Fireball to sleep and quietly limped over to grab her egg before Krum walked out to face his Welsh Green, Daphne suddenly became increasingly concerned with the mounting resolution and the feeling that Harry was convincing himself to do something that he didn't want to, but knew he had to. Finally, Krum managed to strike his dragon in the eye with a spell Daphne didn't recognise and blind it, her fury mounting when the poor creature crushed some of her actual eggs in her blind stumbling. Once he left, Bagman announced the last competitor of the day, and Daphne felt her heart stop with the sound of the cannon firing.

Harry stepped out of the tent into the arena, his resolve in his decision after pulling the small Horntail figurine out of the bag unmoving. The arena was silent as he surveyed his surroundings and spied the golden egg sitting in the nest surrounding by eggs he knew for a fact to be stillborn. He barely had a chance to take a step towards the nest when he had to dive out of the way as a massive, spiked tail smashed down into the stone wall of the arena right where he had been standing.

 _"EGG STOMPER! CHILD MURDERER! I WILL TEAR YOU TO SHREDS! YOUR ASHES WILL SCATTER TO THE WINDS!"_ The hysterical Horntail screeched, her roar rattling Harry's bones as he leapt out of the way of a swiping claw, only to scream as her tail slammed into his leg.

He had managed to quickly transfigure his leg to avoid it being separated from his body –however, while discretely changing parts of his body into the unbreakable skin of a Nemean Lion, that didn't protect Harry's insides as he felt his tibia snap from the impact as he was thrown into the air. The pain and vertigo from being sent spiralling twenty feet in the air disoriented him enough for the Horntail to swipe at him with one set of claws, leaving four long gashes –the highest of which clipping just shy of his left temple and tearing across his face to the right corner of his mouth, while the other three tore diagonally across his torso –as he only just failed to maneuver out of the way. The insane, mother wasn't finished with her grief-fueled assault, though, as she used her other fore foot to slam Harry into the arena wall as his skin belatedly transfigured itself.

Harry's screams of pain as he was pressed against the wall of the arena were drowned as the Horntail raised her head and unleashed a pillar of fire into the air that made Harry's skin burn just from the proximity of it. Every member of the audience watched, frozen by either fear or enforced impotence as the dragon turned her baleful yellow eyes on its captured prey and slowly opened its mouth, revealing rows of dagger-length teeth as she got closer and closer to Harry's face. Closing his eyes and concentrating, Harry reached out his right hand and, to his immense relief, felt the familiar weight of a metal grip in his hand. Raising his arm, Harry plunged the sword of Godric Gryffindor into the dragon's clawed hand, screaming as he severed one of the clawed digits and the dragon dropped him to the ground and he landed on his already injured leg.

Thinking fast, Harry transfigured his skin just before the fountain of boiling hot blood spilled all over him. He couldn't stop the howl of pain from tearing its way from his throat as his most recent wounds were instantaneously cauterized by the green, liquid fire that pumped through his opponent's circulatory system. Flicking the wand strapped to his left hand out, he quickly vanished the blood covering him, taking care to return his skin to its regular form before the spectators could see his fur, at the cost of some lighter burns, and waving his wand as he transfigured the rocks around the Horntail into a barrage of metal spikes while quickly casting a summoning charm towards the school. Smashing the dragon on the top of its head when it attempted to spew flames at him, Harry leapt when he saw his trusty broomstick flying towards him and rode it around the beast, flying high when she angrily snapped the chain around her neck and took to the skies to follow him.

It took everything Harry had to outmaneuver the dragon, but as he delivered cut after cut with the sword, the dragon steadily slowed down, its eyes becoming bleary and its head shaking from side to side as it tried to fight off the encroaching dizziness. Eventually, Harry managed to zoom passed it, roaring as he only just protected his shoulder from her flailing tail and feeling the joint pop out of the socket. Once he was just ahead of the dragon, about a hundred and fifty feet above the arena, he painfully forced his dislocated arm around the handle of his broomstick, and stalled himself out, flipping back towards the ground and narrowly missing the Horntail's snapping jaws as he dragged the sword across its belly before it could follow him into an impossibly fast dive which he pulled up from at the very last moment.

Unfortunately, the poor creature wasn't as agile in its weakened state and crashed into the rocky ground, where it lay, broken and defeated as the venom from his sword finally started to overwhelm it. Stumbling off of his broomstick, Harry limped his way over to her massive head, where he draped himself against her jaw and looked sadly into her glowing yellow eye. Without even realising what he was doing, he brought his hand up and softly stroked the grieving mother's snout.

 _"Be still, Honourable Brood Mother,"_ he hissed, not entirely sure where the words he was saying were coming from. _"Your fight is over. Go now, be with your children."_

Much to his surprise, the mother opened her mouth just enough for a long, forked tongue slithering out and giving Harry an affectionate lick while fluid gathered in its eye.

 _"Thank you,"_ she hissed softly, her last breath rattling from her lungs as the tear flowed from her eye only to solidify into a gorgeous red sphere, inside of which Harry could see something akin to a flickering flame. Pocketing the grapefruit-sized jewel, he dragged his half-dead body over to the golden egg, proudly showing off the tears streaming down his mangled face. He stumbled and fell when he leaned down to grab the egg, and it was only with great difficulty that he managed to struggle back to his feet and limp back to the tent where the other champions were waiting, his every shuffling step echoing loudly in the deathly silent arena.

Once he made it back to the tent, he allowed his grip on Gryffindor's sword to release and the blade vanished before it could even hit the ground, while he finally allowed himself to succumb to the exhaustion he felt.

*(OoO)*

 _Harry woke up and found himself in a familiar clearing. Once again he was completely nude, and he allowed himself a moment to close his eyes and submerge his other senses in his surroundings. Eventually, he opened his eyes and saw a figure in the trees, gliding smoothly across the ground. For a brief moment he was filled with heart-stopping fear, but it passed as soon as it came, and was replaced with a familiar comfort. He felt as if he was being joined by an old friend, and he smiled as the figure, who looked like little more than a humanoid creature, cloaked in billowy smoke._

 _"Hello there," Harry said as he sat up and the figure seemed to lower itself next to him._

 _"You seem remarkably unfazed," the figure noted in a voice that was both familiar and alien. "Most would not invite me to join them."_

 _"I get told that a lot," Harry replied. "You did startle me at first, but I get this feeling… like I've seen you before."_

 _"Perhaps you have."_

 _"Where are we, anyways?"_

 _"Where do you think we are?"_

 _Harry frowned and looked around the clearing before it finally struck him. "It's my clearing in the forest!"_

 _"It would seem so," the figure replied._

 _"Has anyone ever told you that you're quite the conversationalist?" Harry asked teasingly._

 _"Most don't tend to want to be around long enough to try."_

 _"That sucks," Harry said sympathetically._

 _"Indeed." Comfortable silence fell between them, and Harry decided he was content to simply close his eyes and relax in the peaceful atmosphere. He wasn't aware of how much time had passed before the figure spoke once more. "Why did you kill the dragon?"_

 _"She was in pain," Harry explained. "Her children had been taken from her, and the only thing she felt she had left to live for was taking out her revenge. My sword can kill anything with just a cut, and can cut anything, so I decided that if I could just cut her at least once, then I could give her one last fight so she could let go of her anger. Then, when she sees her kids, she'll be at peace."_

 _"That's incredibly wise for a child."_

 _Harry snorted. "I haven't been a child for a while. The only difference is that I've accepted that now."_

 _"Sounds lonely."_

 _"Yeah, it can be. But I have my Sunshine and Padfoot, and Uncles Moony and Severus, and a few others who stick by me, so that helps." As soon as he said this, the sun seemed to shine brighter, and Harry smiled as he leaned back to bask in its warmth._

 _"You know you can't stay here, right?"_

 _"Yeah," Harry replied. "I think there's some stuff I still have to do. Will you be here when I eventually come back?"_

 _"Don't worry, I will. I find you very interesting."_

*(OoO)*

Harry groaned as he opened his eyes. Looking up, he saw the familiar sight of the Hospital Wing ceiling, and memories of his fight with the Hungarian Horntail started coming back. Shifting in his bed, he hissed as pain laced across his chest, while his face seemed to sting horribly. Ignoring the pain, he looked around the Hospital Wing to find it empty with the exception of a head of golden blonde hair resting on an arm clutching tightly to his hand. A quick flick of his wand told him that it was early morning a week after he completed the first task. Gently extracting his hand from his sleeping vigil's he gingerly brought his hands up to undo his shirt, revealing three new scars drawing jagged white lines across his torso.

"I'm afraid your face suffered the same fate," Poppy said quietly as she exited her office.

"Well, there go my prospective dating opportunities," Harry joked. "At least now you won't have to beat the girls away with a stick to spend time with me."

"Considering the rather large number of get well gifts you've received, I'm afraid our sordid affair will need to remain rather clandestine, I'm afraid," Poppy replied smoothly, despite the blush on her face. "And, when you see them, could you please tell the Weasley twins to reconsider their choices in gifts. Constantly desterilizing my Hospital Wings with toilet seats is one thing, but it would seem that they've taken to vandalising my property as well."

Following where she was pointing, Harry chuckled when he saw that upon the headboard of his bed, someone had messily carved the words: _Reserved for Harry Potter, Regular Visitor._

"And yet, you didn't take it down," Harry noted amusingly.

"I figured I would wait for you to wake up and offer to leave it, assuming you can conjure me a new bed."

"No problem," Harry replied, grabbing his wand from the table next to him and giving it a flick as a new identical hospital bed appeared further down the room, perfectly made.

At this point, his sleeping watcher groaned as she shifted on the bed. Harry smiled as she rose her head from where it had been leaning and watched as she gave a mighty yawn, stretching to try and work out the kinks from sleeping in the position she had.

"Morning, Sunshine," Harry murmured softly.

"Mmm, morning, Harry," Daphne mumbled with a smile as she looked at him, her hair adorably mussed and sticking to one side of her head while her bleary eyes squinted as she tried to figure out what was wrong about the current situation. Finally, her eyes snapped wide open as she registered him being awake and she launched herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Harry!" She squealed happily.

Harry grunted and laughed as she tackled him down onto the bed. "Careful, Sunshine, I'm still a little tender," he whispered despite wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close to him, ignoring the sting of her weight against his scars.

"What were you thinking?" Daphne whispered brokenly as she buried her head in the crook of his neck and Harry felt warm moisture soak through his shirt.

"She was hurting Daphne. I had to at least try and spare her from spending the next several centuries trapped the way she was."

"Yes, well, I'm afraid most others don't see your actions for the act of mercy you make them out to be," Poppy said, surprising Daphne and causing her to throw herself off of Harry, her face burning.

"Somehow, I'm not surprised by that," Harry replied with a sigh. "How long until I'm clear to leave?"

"You should be good to attend your afternoon classes, so long as you don't do anything strenuous. Also, make sure you take that silly egg with you when you leave," Poppy said, nodding her head to the golden egg sitting among Harry's many gifts. She handed him a pain relief before heading back to her office with instructions to remain there until it was time to return to his duties. Quickly casting his memory back to what he would be helping Hagrid and Willhelmina with today, he remembered that Hagrid had acquired a pair of Runespoors and groaned.

"What is it?" Daphne asked as she casually climbed in next to him in the bed.

"I just remembered that I had asked Hagrid and Willhelmina if I could use today's lesson to dispense with some of the rumors concerning Parsletongue."

"What are you going to be working with?"

"The third years are starting work with a couple of freshly-hatched Runespoors Hagrid managed to wrangle. They actually make for some pretty interesting conversation."

"But now that the school sees you as the unhinged Dark-Lord-In-The-Making, who can't control his desire for ultraviolence and takes it out on poor, defenseless, dragons, you're worried about their reaction."

"Got it in one," Harry replied, popping the lid off the pain relief potion and draining it down. He then called for Dobby, and, after reassuring the sobbing house elf that he was fine, asked him to bring a change of robes and Harry's things while taking the egg and the many gifts back to his room. Closing his eyes once Dobby had finished and left after one last hug, Harry inadvertently started purring as he felt Daphne's fingers glide along his chest, tracing the three newest scars delicately before turning her attention to the older ones. He could tell that she felt concern and sadness for him as she thought about the implications and history behind the marks, but was grateful when she didn't push him to divulge anything.

"When you're ready," she mumbled, placing a soft kiss on a small, circular burn just below his collarbone. Harry held her close and placed a lingering kiss of his own on the top of her head, taking a deep breath of her familiar scent. He smiled after they both stood up, and he felt the happiness and affection surging through her when he didn't ask her to leave before getting changed –grabbing her wrist before she could turn around.

He supposed he should've felt awkward at pretty much asking his best friend to watch as he got changed, but the significance of the action was not lost on either of them. As he turned his back to her and stripped down, he flinched when he heard her gasp, and couldn't decide if he was more afraid that she might reach out and touch one of the many marks on his nude form, or turn and run when she saw just how damaged he was. Instead, she simply stood completely still, her emotions flooding him as she sent everything from sadness, to affection, to empathy. Most importantly, underlying all of these emotions, Harry seemed to feel as if he could hear her constantly whispering in his ear.

 _I'm not going anywhere. You're not going to lose me._

As he pulled on the more worn down robes that he favoured for both Care for Magical Creatures and Astronomy, Harry couldn't help but smile gratefully when he turned back to her and she walked up to him and wrapped him in a gentle embrace. Together, they made a quick stop by the kitchens to grab some food and dine with whatever elf was on break at the time, then, under the cover of the Invisibility Cloak, they navigated their way down to the grounds, making a beeline to Hagrid's hut.

When Harry knocked on Hagrid's door, he shifted nervously as he waited for his very first friend to open his door. When he finally did, Harry found himself at a sudden loss for words.

"'Arry? Whaddya doin' here?" Hagrid asked, carrying a barrel of single malt whiskey. "Class ain' 'til after lunch."

Harry opened his mouth and took a deep breath, mentally thanking Daphne as she grabbed his hand tightly.

"Hagrid, I was… wondering if I could talk to you about what happened during the first task."

"Oh," Hagrid said, his voice carefully neutral. "Why don't ye both come an' help me feed Olympe's Abraxans?"

"Sure," Harry replied. They walked the short distance to the Beauxbatons carriage in uncomfortable silence. By the time they arrived and Harry had grabbed the extra flagon to hold up the massive winged horses, the tension was threatening to make him explode. "She was begging for it," he blurted awkwardly.

"What?" Hagrid asked.

"The Horntail," Harry replied. "I could understand her."

Hagrid's warm coal-like eyes widened in awe. "How?"

"For the last year or so, I've had a strong connection with most magical creatures," Harry explained vaguely. "I can understand Zephyr and Hedwig, because they're so close to me emotionally, but most animals give me a sort of… impression of what they're feeling or thinking. Combined with my Parsletongue, I could understand the Horntail."

Harry then proceeded to explain everything that had happened from when Kyddris had called him while he was in the Hospital Wing (though he substituted him with Zephyr in his recounting). When he finally got to the fight with the Horntail, his voice broke and became a pleading one. "Please, Hagrid… you have to believe me. I'm not some unhinged maniac that enjoys diving into these kind of things and hurting other creatures. She was in so much pain, and all she wanted was to be with her children. I knew that the basilisk venom would be painless, like falling asleep, but she was big and dragons are prideful creatures. I _had_ to offer her one last fight. For her to die from one poisoned cut and then waiting for however long it would have taken for that single wound to bring her down… I couldn't do that. Please. You have to believe me. You were my first friend Hagrid. I've already lost Ron and Hermione, I can't lose you too."

Tears were gathering in his eyes by the time he was finished, and he was surprised when Hagrid immediately wrapped Harry up in a crushing hug. That was the last crack in the dam, for Harry, and he allowed himself to cry into the thick, musky overcoat of the man who had literally broke down his door and taken Harry away from the world of suffering with his relatives to one where he could thrive. One that his parents and the rest of his _real_ family were a part of. One where he actually had a chance to make friends, and, more importantly, make choices.

"I believe ye' Harry," Hagrid muttered. "I know yer not what they think ye are. Yer one o' the kindest souls I ever did have the pleasure o' meetin'. Even if the whole world is against ye, I'll be righ' there behind ye."

Daphne watched with misty eyes of her own as Harry and Hagrid embraced. It was so easy to forget that Harry was just another teenager, like her. The world and the machinations of men who thought themselves greater than him had forced him to grow up before he should have, and had robbed him of his childhood, turning him into a warrior that she knew would quickly find himself worthy of legend before he had even entered the cusp of adolescence. The place he called home, where he was supposed to learn about the world he had been left out of, had even thrust him into the role of teacher and guide to his fellow students, even though he, himself, was not even halfway through his own formal education because of his curiosity and desire to learn more independently. His knowledge and eventual acceptance of his early maturity had even forced him away from the two people he had previously considered his closest friends, while segregating him from most others because he was unconcerned with the petty tribulations the rest of his peers revolved their lives around.

Seeing Harry finally let go of all those withheld emotions was fascinating. Especially when Zephyr and Hedwig both flew down to perch themselves on his heaving shoulders, while the Abraxans tried to move closer and nuzzle him as well. Daphne watched, amazed, as all sorts of magical creature came to comfort Harry. From Buckbeak the hippogriff, to a single unicorn and a pair of thestrals, to a massive reddish-purple tentacle that rose out of the lake and slapped him on the back. She even heard a faint roar from the forest that she guessed was Kyddris trying to comfort his bonded without blowing his cover.

Eventually, Harry and Hagrid separated, and both of them laughed at the gathering of animals around them, promising them all food once they were done with the Abraxans. Daphne decided to join them and help out until after lunch, which they both spent in the kitchens once more, when she unfortunately needed to get back to her classes, the excuse of monitoring him wearing out once he was about to return to a classroom environment. Hugging him close and giving him a soft, lingering kiss on the cheek, Daphne hurried off to her charms lesson while Harry stumbled back down to Hagrid's hut, where he and Willhelmina were smirking at Harry knowingly.

Finally the third years ambled down to join them, and Harry was treated to many expressions ranging from fear to disgust, with only Luna showing anything resembling support. Taking a deep breath and reminding himself that so long as the students he was supposed to be helping teach listened to him and respected the authority of his position, their personal opinions of him didn't matter, he listened to Hagrid and Willhelmina begin the lecture.

"We got a special treat for ye today," Hagrid said enthusiastically, prompting the expressions of fear to shift from Harry to their professor at the idea of which dangerous creature they were going to be handling today.

"Not to worry," Willhelmina reassured them. "These lessons will be carefully monitored and controlled. The difference, is that Professor Hagrid and I are going to be taking a back seat while Professor Potter gives you all a lesson that no one at Hogwarts has ever received."

"Now, all o' ye better remember tha' Professor Potter here, while close to yer age, is a member o' the staff," Hagrid warned lowly, many of the students nodding fearfully, having never heard the gentle half-giant use anything other than the cheerful tone he used for his lectures or the stern façade he showed for some of his more rowdy creatures. "He went an' volunteered to teach ye about a very rare, very personal ability, and if anybody talks outta turn, or is disrespectful, you'll be spendin' detention with me. And Professor Potter can tell ye how much fun those are."

Taking another deep breath, Harry summoned his courage and stepped forward as Hagrid giving him the floor. Looking out over the group of fearful students he sighed and smiled at them. "What do you say we all sit down?" Harry said, sitting himself down cross legged before the class, who all followed his lead with confused looks on their faces. Once every one was seated, Willhelmina and Hagrid having taken seats on a fallen log off to the side, he made sure to maintain his easy smile as he continued. "Now, how many remember, during your first year, when there were all those rumors about me being the heir of Slytherin?" He watched as one or two cautiously raised their hands while many others nervously avoided his eyes. "It's alright, I'm not going to be mad, even if you did believe the rumors. I just want to know how many of you know about it." Immediately, every single hand went up with the exception of Luna, who was staring off into space, though Harry knew she was listening in her own way. "Right, now can anybody tell me why people first thought I was the heir?" All of the hands went down, and Harry was forced to restrain an eye roll at the fickle and harmful ways of the Hogwarts grapevine. Slowly, one boy in Ravenclaw raised his hand, and Harry nodded his head in his direction. "Yes, Gregory?"

"Didn't it have something to do with you possessing a snake to attack a muggle-born?"

"Close," Harry replied. "During my second year, I accidentally revealed that I was something called a Parselmouth, without knowing what that even was. Now, can anyone tell me what they think a Parselmouth is? And hold nothing back. Tell me exactly what you think it means."

This time a girl from Gryffindor raised her hand. Harry idly noticed that she was sitting right near Ginny, but put that aside. The youngest Weasley had been almost as frigid as her older brother with him, and though he couldn't figure out why, he wasn't inclined to put much effort into that particular conundrum.

"A Parselmouth is a Dark Wizard with the ability to speak to and command snakes," the girl, Demelza, said cautiously.

"Yeah, that's the general thought on the matter," Harry replied calmly, easing the girls worries. "The fact of the matter is that there are plenty of infamous Parselmouths throughout history who were considered Dark. Add that to the fact that most people seem to see everyone sorted into Slytherin as potential Dark Lord or Lady, the house's affinity for snakes, Salazar himself being a Parselmouth, and the misconceptions most people have about him, and you're pretty much guaranteed to associate the ability to speak the serpent tongue with the Dark Arts. Especially if you believe what the _Prophet_ has no doubt been writing about me. But the truth of the matter is quite different."

"What do you mean, Professor Potter?" one of the other students asked.

"Well, let's go through them one by one," Harry began. "To start with, Parselmouth is an ability that was first seen around Eastern Asia, long, long before Hogwarts was built, or most magical communities properly established. Because of the many useful things that can be gained from the thousands of species of snake –both magical and mundane –the ability to 'charm' snakes was revered, especially in a time where it was much more likely that one could be attacked in their sleep. This ability moved around the rest of the world, and started to fade with time, mostly due to the older families at the time partaking in things like inbreeding, which harms the bloodline as there are no new properties introduced, so the bloodline is unable to grow and evolve. We don't have time to go into a lecture about the history of snakes and what they represented, but as I'm sure you can all guess, as the reputation of the creature diminished, those who could speak with them, and seemingly control them got the same treatment. Any questions so far?"

"What did you mean about Slytherin and his house?" Gregory asked.

"Let me answer your question with another question, Gregory," Harry replied. "If there really were an entire quarter of the school that the Sorting Hat could single out as Dark, why would we keep them around? If we know that they are going to hurt someone, or break the law, shouldn't we just kick them out? Not have to deal with the risk?"

"But that's not right!" One of the students cried.

"Why not?" Harry asked. "The Sorting Hat put them in Slytherin, which pretty much means that they are going to hate anyone who is muggle-born, and throw themselves into the Dark Arts. Why shouldn't we just send them packing?"

"Because you don't know for sure that they're going to be dark."

Harry clapped his hands together and pointed at Ginny, who was looking away petulantly a blush on her cheeks. "Precisely, Ginny. Just because someone is in Slytherin, doesn't mean they're going to be evil. There have been plenty of famous wizards both good and bad who have come from all four houses. Professor Snape, creepy git you may think him to be, is one of the finest men I know, and he was a Slytherin when he went here. On the other hand, my godfather, Sirius Black, was framed, while my parents were betrayed by their friend Peter Pettigrew. A Gryffindor."

"But what about Salazar? He was said to have left the school because they let in muggle-borns."

"I'm not sure how it happened," Harry explained carefully. "But at some point, the history books got messed up. The reason Salazar had a falling out had to do with what was going on in the world outside. You see, the founders created Hogwarts as a safe place for all children born with the gift to perform magic. At the time, the muggles and the church would burn anyone they thought of as potentially magical at the stake. Because of this, if a child was muggle-born, there was a very low chance of them living to even get their Hogwarts letter, as any bout of accidental magic could result in them being killed. Slytherin was a little more aggressive in his additions to the school. Where they all added thousands of different, powerful wards, as well as their own personal touches, such as the Sorting Hat and the enchanted quill that writes the letters to every year's new batch of first years. Salazar, though, was worried about what would happen if the muggles, or anybody else for that matter, attacked the school. He constructed a chamber behind the backs of the other founders, and he placed in it something that would follow his command and protect the school should all else fail."

"The Chamber of Secrets," Demelza murmured.

"Precisely. This is where I think that Slytherin's reputation turns into what I think it is. After witnessing the deaths of so many children because of the muggles' fear, and seeing just how many parents were responsible for turning their own children in, Slytherin got in constant arguments with the other founders. His views slowly turned from a desire to protect children from the monstrosities around them, to thinking that they should assert their control over the muggles, so as to show them why it's a bad idea to hurt on of us. When the others didn't agree with his views, especially as they became steadily more tyrannical, he eventually left, making sure that his last defence in Hogwarts would never be accessed by any but his own blood, he sealed it with Parseltongue. The creature inside was put into a sort of sleep until it would be needed. Unfortunately, brilliant predator that it was, centuries of isolation left its mind weak, so when a descendant of Salazar did eventually arrive at the school, he was able to sway the monster to obey his hypocritical demands. He used it to secretly terrorize the school, and, when he had finally used it to kill a muggle-born girl, he framed a fellow student." Harry heard Hagrid take a deep breath as Harry omitted the identity of the framed student. "Then, fifty years later, he used another student here to open the Chamber of Secrets once more, and continue what he started. After that, you all know the story. What this digression was meant to prove, though, is that Parseltongue, like most forms of magic, is not evil. It's the wizard with the ability that decides whether he's good or bad. Parseltongue itself is simply another unique way magic allows us to interact with the world around us, as well as providing a branch of spellcasting that few can access."

"What do you mean?" a dark-haired girl sitting near Luna asked.

"Well, as a magical language, Parseltongue, grants the one with the ability a bit of a boost to their spells, provided the speaker knows what he's doing." Unsheathing his wand, Harry held it up in front of him and quietly said a quick Lumos, creating a small light at the end of his wand. Extinguishing the light, Harry repeated the spell in Parseltongue, and the entire class watched in awe as the tip of his wand emitted a near blinding light.

"Now, seeing as this is a Care for Magical Creatures course, let's take a look at some creatures that will listen to a Parselmouth."

"Professor Potter?" Ginny asked coolly. "You never said who the people involved in the incident with the Chamber of Secrets were. Or what the beast was."

"That's because it wasn't relevant, Miss Weasley," Harry replied calmly. "The identities of those not responsible for what happened are not my secrets to share. As for the monster, I'd be happy to discuss the King of Serpents, should any of you come to me with an essay about some aspect of magical languages, that I may be inclined to take to different professors to be marked for extra credit depending on the subject of the essay."

The rest of the class went by easily with Harry showing the class the two Runespoors, and introducing everyone to the six individual heads, before explaining the different personality and characteristics of each head. Once class was finished, Hagrid asked for an essay on the significance of Runespoors in Runes, and Harry watched them leave before turning back to the more social of the Runespoors, whose heads were named Gary, Larry, and Jerry. He was happily listening to Larry describe a rather ridiculous daydream while Hagrid and Willhelmina tried to stop two of the other serpent's heads from killing the other.

By the time the fourth year Gryffindors and Ravenclaws showed up (Harry found it odd where this was the only class where he helped with two consecutive classes with the same houses paired up, but figured it was generally better for him to mix up his interactions with all the houses), both serpents had been returned to their cages, where Hagrid fed them three rats each, all laced with sleeping potion.

The fourth years had started to work on particularly nasty creatures Hagrid had dubbed Blast-Ended Skrewts that were a cross between firecrabs and manticores. Harry didn't like the guilty expression on Hagrid's face when someone asked what the Skrewts were being bred for and Hagrid looked at him for a brief second before using the classic 'school business' copout. Harry walked around the class as they struggled to deal with the tough layer of armor that accompanied their newly acquired ill tempers. He helped out wherever he could, but after seeing that the creatures were shrugging off every attempt to pacify them, with the exception of one that a Ravenclaw boy by the name of Terry Boot had managed to stun as it leapt at him, though the impact and subsequent burns required him to be escorted to the Hospital Wing, which Padma had argued vehemently for the opportunity to do, just so that she could get away from the armored bundles of stingers, fire, and pain.

Harry took her place and was facing off with his Skrewt, trying to figure out which spell to use, as he would probably only get one chance. He knew from Terry, that the underbelly was the only vulnerable part on the Skrewt, and judging by the way it was standing, crouched and ready to move, it knew it too. Frowning, Harry was struck by an idea. The armor was resistant to impact and magic, but there was something he had that pierced through pretty much anything save for spells themselves. Mentally calculating how much power to use, Harry took a deep breath, and jabbed his wand forward. Everyone turned to look at him as a loud _crack_ split the air, and a small bolt of lightning zapped the Blast-Ended Skrewt. The mild shock caused it to rear back reflexively, Harry having remembered that their backs arched downward before the armor and attitude set in. As soon as its belly was exposed, he slashed his wand down and fired a stunner at it.

"Zephyr," Harry called, causing his guide to appear in a flash of lightning. "Alright, everyone, listen up! If you're having trouble stunning your Skrewts, a small Lightning Spell will cause it to rear back so that you can stun it. The wand movement is a simple jab towards your target, and the incantation is _Pessulum_. Keep in mind that this spell requires some tricky control, so start with low voltage, and gradually work your way up." At the blank looks on many of their faces, he sighed and reworded himself. "Start weak, and only add more power than you need. Zephyr and I will walk around to help out where we can."

As he placed his unconscious Skrewt into the pen Hagrid stored them in, he was forced to groan and apologise to Hagrid as several people caused their Skrewts to explode rather messily from overloading their spells, further angering the remaining hybrids.

"Don' worry about it, Harry," Hagrid grunted, watching with amusement as Ron's Skrewt chased him around, tail waving and fire billowing. "Pretty clever o' ye to figure out they just needed a li'l zap."

"Thanks," Harry grinned. "For the record, short of things like a dragon and the basilisk, pretty much anything that's 'impenetrable' will be affected by that spell if you learn how to control it properly."

"Why not the two big'uns?"

"Pretty much anyone who tried wouldn't know how to control it properly so that their skin doesn't block the spell."

"How'd you figure all this out, anyway?" Hagrid asked.

"I just expanded my studying to include things they don't normally teach," Harry explained vaguely, frowning as he watched Hermione stand and listen to them while pretending to be helping Ron with his Skrewt. It also helped that a lot of the magic that involved fire and electricity was explained and taught by Zephyr and Kyddris. Through those, and his recent interests in the sciences, Harry had started to expand the skill with which he wielded his magic, and the power of his spells. Through mixing muggle science and wizard magic, he was steadily working his way towards a place where the two intersected, which, in his opinion, produced some of the most amazing examples of magic he had ever seen. Sure his independent studies had ground to snail's pace by suddenly including so many new subjects that he wanted to learn about, but through them, Harry was starting to feel like he was on the path to understanding something huge about the way the world around him worked and how he was part of it.

Snapping his finger, he sent a tiny bolt of lightning at Hermione, smirking as she jumped with a yelp. "That'll be five points from Gryffindor for eavesdropping, Granger, and another twenty for leaving your partner and housemate to deal with a dangerous creature on his own and endangering a fellow student."

Hermione looked torn between scowling at him angrily, and pouting at him pleadingly as he maintained his mask. Unlike Daphne, who constantly wore an icy expression to scare away potential threats, Harry made sure to keep his expression carefully neutral most of the time so that the younger students –whom he really did enjoy teaching as they only took about ten minutes into a class to forget about whatever rumor concerning him was circling around that week –still found him approachable. He had been making sure to closely watch each professor as they worked, and was trying to emulate certain aspects from each of them until he could properly establish his own teaching style.

Once class was over, Harry helped clean up and headed to the Hospital Wing to help Madam Pomfrey for an hour before returning to his office. Once inside, he strode up to his room and opened the door, smiling at the pile of gifts some people had left him. Zeroing in on the two objects in particular that he wanted to more closely examine, Harry grabbed the golden egg and the shining jewel that had originally been the tear of a dragon and brought them back into his office.

The jewel in particular interested him. Nothing he had read in preparation of raising Kyddris had hinted that dragons even _had_ tear ducts, and when he tried asking his familiar about it, he had been just as confused Harry. Shrugging and pocketing the jewel, Harry turned to the egg as he took a seat on the couch across from the fireplace. Moving it around in his hand and examining it in its entirety, Harry finally settled on fingering the clasp at the top of the egg and pulling it open. When he did, the golden shell of the egg opened like the petals of a flower, showing the glowing inside was a mixture of swirling gold and blue. The moment the clasp came undone, Harry flinched and his eyes widened.


	13. Chapter 13

Harry frowned as he examined the egg sitting on his desk. He had lucked out that about a second after he opened the egg, and loud, ear-piercing shrieking filled the air, the wailing had shifted into a beautiful voice singing a cryptic poem. The bit about their voices not being heard above the ground and the allusion to prospects being black led Harry to believe that something was going to be hid in the Black Lake, and after a few more listens to the clue, his mind had confirmed it by letting him know that the language he was listening to was that of the merpeople. He secretly thanked the unknown werewolf that Zephyr had vaporised for putting Harry on the path to unlocking so many lost blessings. Otherwise, he was sure that he would have been spending the entire time up to the second task trying to figure out the clue. Now that he was sure that something of his was going to be taken, Harry went around casting permanent tracking charms on all of his possessions that he considered important (and in the case of several, he placed water repelling and other protective charms on them), which freed up quite a bit of time for the other mysteries that had to be placed on the backburner. When Daphne came to fetch him for dinner, Harry had been squeezing the jewel, enjoying the comfort its soft heat sent through his arm.

"What've you got there?" She asked, tossing herself onto the couch and draping her legs over his lap.

"The Horntail gave it to me," Harry said, smiling as he turned to face her. "After we crashed to the ground and I started speaking to her, she shed a tear and it turned into this."

"Dragons have tears?" Daphne inquired.

"I thought the same thing."

"Did you take a look at the egg?"

Harry nodded with a smile. "The merpeople are gonna steal something of mine, and I'll have an hour to get it back from wherever they plan on hiding it beneath the Black Lake."

"So, we've gotta figure out how to let you spend an hour underwater without drowning," Daphne surmised.

"Yeah, but for now, let's just go to dinner. We have until February twenty-fourth to figure it out," Harry said, moving Daphne's feet and offering her his hand. Daphne accepted the offer, and almost _giggled_ when Harry dramatically wrapped their arms together as they made their way back to the Great Hall, dropping them as they entered. Bidding farewell to Daphne, Harry made his way over to the Ravenclaw table, and took a seat next to Luna, who was casually swinging her bare feet as she ate.

"Evening, Luna," Harry said as he served himself.

"Oh, hello, Harry," Luna said absentmindedly. Harry looked down at Luna's bare feet, and noticed the dirt and scrapes on them, as well as the way Luna seemed to be favouring her one side as she took extremely careful breaths.

"Did the Nargles take your shoes again?" Harry asked pleasantly, though his voice carried an undercurrent of concern.

"It would seem so," Luna said airily. To most, Luna would seem very distant, and completely unflappable, but it didn't take Harry long to figure out the distinction between the fantastical things that she and her father believed in –which he never questioned, because, in a world filled with magic, he saw no reason why the things she believed in couldn't exist –and the façade that she used as a way of coping with the way the other students treated her. There was a light in her eyes that simply… faded, when she was making up stories to cover for the fact that she was picked on because she was different.

"Would you like to come help the younger years after dinner? The Nargles always seem to bring your things back when they see you're helping others, like a proper Ravenclaw." The not-so-subtle jab echoed through the Great Hall, as the entire student body of the three schools had yet to stop staring at Harry.

"I'd like that," Luna replied, the light coming back to her eyes. "Do you think you could show me some more of your Parseltongue as well?"

Harry's smile grew when Padma and Fleur slid down the table to join them.

"What ees zis about Parseltongue?" Fleur asked curiously while Padma looked somewhat cautious.

"Professor Potter taught our class about Parselmouths!" Gregory excitedly piped up, seemingly ignoring his aversion for Luna as he slid over to join in the conversation. Harry could tell, that, while the hum of activity had returned, it was very clear that many people were listening in on their conversation.

"Greg, you know that outside the classroom, you're just supposed to call me by my first name," Harry groaned exaggeratingly, taking great pleasure in the way the conversation was going. Ravenclaw table had quickly become his new safe haven, as the other three houses had a vast majority that either hated him for being a traitor, stealing Cedric's spotlight (despite Harry's constant reminders that he _wasn't_ the Hogwarts champion), or on general principle. On the rare occasions where he would come down to the Great Hall for meals other than dinner, his friends from the other houses would also join them there, as dinner was the only meal where it was mandatory you dine with your house. Looking up at the surge of pride and affection, he saw Daphne reading a book, a small smile on her face as she looked up at him before composing herself and returning to her studies. "But to answer your question, Fleur, yes, I was teaching them about Parselmouths. As one myself, and having read a few of the older texts on it, I thought it might be interesting if the students got a lesson to dispel some of the myths about Parseltongue while helping Professor Hagrid with his lesson on Runespoors."

"Zat ees fascinating!" Fleur exclaimed. "I find zee majeecal languages very fascinating! I would love to 'ear about eet as well."

"Well, I keep my office open as a place for students to do their own sort of supervised independent study every night for two hours," Harry offered. "You're welcome to come, if you want."

"Zank you, 'Arry! I look forward to eet."

Dinner passed rather quickly, and Harry excused himself early so as to set up his office as the sort of impromptu classroom he let people use every day.

"So, this is where all the younger years disappear to every night."

Turning around, Harry saw a middle-aged woman in a horrible combination of bicycle shorts and a parka. She had shoulder-length brown hair, and her eyes were the colour of lively tree bark.

"Professor Burbage, I don't think we've ever been formally introduced," Harry said, slipping into the training Sirius, Tipsy, and Griphook had drilled into him on etiquette. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm sorry that I don't get to help out in your class this year."

"Think nothing of it, my boy," Burbage mumbled as she looked over the image of the periodic table of the elements inside a textbook Harry had left on his desk. "Tell me, these runes, what do they symbolise?"

"It's part of the muggle science of chemistry," Harry explained as he finished applying the proper wards for an area where students could practice spells safely. "It's how they identify the substances of which everything around us are made; investigate their properties the ways they interact, combine, and change; and use these processes to create new substances."

"Fascinating," Burbage mumbled, thumbing through the textbook. "It seems remarkably similar to Alchemy."

"I don't doubt that Alchemy involves chemistry," Harry replied. "It also has to do with studying the world around us."

"Professor Burbage, what are you doing here?" Minerva asked from her position at the door.

"Minerva, have you seen these?" Burbage asked excitedly. "The muggles, they have this entirely different way of observing the world around them that doesn't involve magic at all!"

"It's hardly surprising," Minerva replied dryly. "Their lack of magic does not correlate to a lack of curiosity. What _I_ am curious about is what you are doing with so many muggle texts, Harry."

"I'm working on something," Harry replied. "And I think it's going to be big. But for now, I think I'd like to keep the ultimate goal of my studies a secret."

"Very well, so long as you remain up to speed on your classes here, I guess there is no reason to question you further."

"Don't worry, Professor McGonagall," Harry said happily. "I'm actually studying to take my OWLs this summer."

"That's quite impressive, Harry," Minerva replied proudly. "If you manage to do pass them, combined with your rather unique circumstances, you could be returning here next year as a full-fledged member of the Hogwarts staff."

Something in Harry swelled at the idea of being able to teach full time, and a wide grin split his face. "You really think so?"

"Certainly," Minerva replied, nodding happily. "Your responsibilities would be much the same as they are now, and you would be expected to keep up your personal studies so as to be able to pass your NEWTs within your remaining three years, but you would be granted more freedom to choose which classes you shadowed in, and enjoy the full privileges of a staff member. Provided you don't abuse them, that is."

Suddenly, it seemed to Harry like he had finally found his end goal. He may have understood the necessity and accepted the burden of working to steadily change the Wizarding World toward the better, but the idea that, on his off days while he fought for a brighter future, and afterwards too, when he had passed the torch off to someone else, he would be able to wake up each day and help shape future generations, while sharing the results of his forays into attempting to understand the world around them and their place in it sparked something in him. He now knew what he would be ultimately working toward, and it firmed his resolve even more.

Minerva and Burbage left the classroom just as the first students started trickling in, and Harry grinned as he got to work.

*(OoO)*

Later that night, Harry had bid farewell to his students, and was sitting on the couch next to Daphne, watching the many dots to make sure they got back to their individual common rooms before curfew, when he noticed her watching him.

"What?" He asked with a smile.

"Nothing," Daphne replied. "It's just nice to see you so happy."

"I've found I really enjoy this whole teaching thing," Harry replied. "Even if a quarter of the students I help teach are my age and treat me worse than Severus."

"Don't let him here you say that," Daphne giggled. "He works very hard for his reputation of inspiring fear and loathing."

Harry laughed and turned to wrap his arm around Daphne's shoulders, allowing a purr to rumble his chest as she leaned against him and buried herself in the baggy sweater he was wearing. "You know, Professor McGonagall said that if I pass my OWLs this summer, then next year, I could be an actual member of the staff."

"Really?" Daphne asked, sitting up slightly to look Harry in the eyes. "Harry that's fantastic! You'd be the youngest professor ever to teach here! Are you considering it?"

"If you had asked me even before this year began, I would have said no," Harry replied. "But helping these kids has been the most fun I've had since coming to Hogwarts. And the feeling I got when all those professors stopped by to thank me after that first month of essay help…"

"I know, I could feel how happy you were from the dungeons," Daphne said. "I'm so proud of you, Harry."

Harry smiled and buried his nose in her hair, his purring increasing in volume as her scent flooded his nostrils. It didn't take long for them to end up falling asleep and spending the night curled up on the sofa.

About two weeks later, Harry was helping out with the fourth year Potions class. He was still smiling at the image of a blushing, Daphne trying desperately to flatten her bed head and fix her robes before sneaking back to her dorms. Harry had loaned her his cloak, trusting her to keep it safe and get it back to him, before he went down for his early morning swim.

Potions was one of the more interesting classes to help out with, Harry thought. For the younger years, he spent most of his time walking around, answering questions, and making sure the students were safe, which was generally par for the course. The only difference was that Severus liked to make a show out of ordering him around, but even that wasn't so bad. It was the fourth year classes that proved more difficult. Along with Defence (which Harry had all sorts of strange feelings about –mostly centered around Professor Moody), Potions was the only time Harry was in a room with the fourth year Gryffindors _and_ Slytherins, and _both_ of them were double classes. Harry was secretly convinced that the charm that designed his schedule was trying to get him killed by making him spend an hour and a half with the two houses whose hatred for each other was only matched by their mutual disdain for him.

The Gryffindors still saw him as a traitor who abandoned them for his new position. The only exceptions were Fred, George, and Neville –though after the first task, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and Alicia Spinnet had all come up and apologized for how they had been acting, stating that they knew without a doubt that he would never enter his name into the cup –who all stood by him and tried to offer their public defence of him whenever someone tried to question him on how he managed to get into the tournament or his fight with the Horntail. As usual, Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise were the only ones within Slytherin House who tolerated him, though, Tori –who would show up and beg for his help with her homework every once in a while, to which Harry would laugh and agree –would often bring her housemates with her when she went to visit him, causing a few of the second year Slytherins to begin to warm up to him.

Unfortunately, the presence of his four friends did little when Harry was constantly running interference. Severus always apologised after the class because Malfoy would undoubtedly do something stupid, and the politics –both inside the school and outside –prevented him from doing much without risking his position, and the safety of the more at-risk Slytherins (such as non-purebloods, younger years who had yet to learn how to hide their non-conformist attitudes, and pretty much everybody who didn't associate with Malfoy and his cronies, or the more dangerous older years). Harry always waved it off, seeing as, while Severus could do nothing to stop Malfoy, he _could_ turn a blind eye and allow Harry to take care of the issue. Malfoy had tried to go to his father, but Lucius had been shut down by both Griphook and Firenze, who were occupying Harry's seats on the school's Board of Governors for him. As descendants of the founders, the mysterious Lords Gryffindor and Slytherin were both entitled to twenty-five percent of the castle itself, which had previously all been owned by the collective board. The idea had been that, after the founders had passed, the rights to the school would pass to a collective, rather than be broken up and split between several individuals. However, through some impressive legal manipulation, which impressed even Griphook a thousand years later, there were provisions put in place to allow for the founders' original shares and seats on the board would pass to their descendants, allowing for them to have significant sway, but still need at least two descendants alive, on the board, and in agreement, to block the board from making any decision they thought would not be in the best interest of the school (and even then it could be overturned by certain individuals), and three to _do_ anything concerning how Hogwarts was run that the board didn't agree with as well. It did have the benefit though of Hogwarts technically belonging to Harry since he owned fifty percent of the rights to it.

As such, Harry was free to punish Malfoy as he saw fit, which usually resulted in Malfoy having his current potion vanished, losing points, and frequent detentions with Filch, while Snape dropped Malfoy's grades to barely-passing. Harry could always tell when he was helping with marking Potions homework that Severus had reached whatever Malfoy had handed in because he would start muttering angrily to himself about corruption affecting education, and how dangerous it was that someone unqualified be let within fifty feet of a cauldron.

However, if Malfoy were the only thing he had to deal with, Harry would still be fine with Potions and Defence (though he was pretty sure Moody using him as a test dummy for the Imperius Curse –especially when it didn't seem to have worked on him –was a questionable thing to do). The difficulty came from playing peacekeeper between the two houses while also dealing with their ire. In both of them, he had taken pages out of both Severus and Minerva's books, giving no quarter to their shenanigans and having a zero-tolerance policy for anything other than classwork. He started to understand why Severus found such great joy in looming over certain students and inspiring fear, as when Ron and Seamus had "accidentally" summoned his belt, only for him to wave off the spell, disarm them, and take twenty points each for "poor aim" when practising spells around others. Hermione had tried to argue the point, which –if done in a civil manner –Harry always made a point of allowing, but in these two classes in particular, Harry had simply docked another five points for speaking out of turn before turning and helping Dean with his wand movements.

Today, the class was brewing Draught of Rage, and Harry was watching them all closely. He had already busted Malfoy for trying to toss ingredients into Lavender's cauldron, and had sadly vanished Neville's potion as it was about to explode, and was just wondering what would happen next.

"Next time, Longbottom, call me over as soon as you realize your potion is not like what the textbook describes. Attempting to salvage your potion without properly understanding where you went wrong is a good way to, at best, fail or receive a zero, and at worst, potentially hurt your classmates," Harry explained calmly. "As it is, I'm going to need to take ten points from Gryffindor for not taking proper precautions."

"Yes, Professor," Neville mumbled shyly, staring down at his feet.

Leaning forward and placing his hand on Neville's shoulder, Harry smiled when Neville finally looked up at him. "You have to get out of your own head. When you apply yourself, you're actually quite skilled. However, you're your own worst enemy. You allow your nerves and self-deprecation to convince you of the opposite and you start making mistakes. I suggest finding a way to calm down, and simply focus on your work during class."

"Thanks, Professor," Neville replied, grinning as the teasing tone his friends used to address Harry by his title returned to his voice. Harry nodded and turned to continue his rounds, concentrating on not taking a deep breath as he worked to remain calm. The fumes from some of the potions had started to seep into the room, and Harry had to quickly figure out which ones before they catalysed a reaction from the mixture of ignorant hatred between houses, teenage hormones, and mob mentality that were constantly bubbling just below the surface during these classes. Spying Hermione's potion as the culprit, Harry stormed over and casted a quick spell to clear the air and vanished her potion, which had changed from resembling wine, to a boiling cauldron of blood, discretely filling a vial he kept on him with some.

"Harry!" She screeched angrily. "Are you _trying_ to sabotage me?! You had no reason to do that!"

"It's pretty hard to sabotage something that Professor Snape would have failed anyway, Granger," Harry replied coolly, making sure to keep his emotions under control.

"I highly doubt that," Hermione replied as she crossed her arms and turned her nose into the air. "I'm pretty sure I know how to brew something as easy as this. You're just trying to be cruel."

"Professor Potter," Severus said as he glided over. "While I may have found you useful as a cauldron-cleaner with a rudimentary knowledge of potions, I will not tolerate cruelty towards my students. That's what I'm here for."

"Professor Snape, Harry deliberately vanished my potion to make sure I failed!" Hermione exclaimed, the effects of the fumes having clearly made her forget to whom she was speaking.

Harry kept his face neutral as he handed the vial to Severus, who examined it carefully before vanishing the potion and handing the vial back to Harry. "Twenty points from Gryffindor for endangering your fellow students by rushing ahead, Granger. And twenty more for uncouth behaviour and blatant disrespect towards a staff member. Lastly, you will be receiving a zero, and I expect an essay on the dangers of exposing the Draught of Rage to the open air, and its fumes by next class." Without another word, Severus whirled around and stalked off while Harry continued his rounds until the class ended and he made his way for the Hospital Wing. Poppy took a quick look at Harry's newest scars then set him to work mass-brewing simple pain-relief potions. Once the four cauldrons he was working on were simmering, he opened up his grimoire and started reading one of the books Poppy had given him on healing charms. So far he could perform basic first-aid spells, and reverse most student-level hexes that one saw around the school, but he was having trouble doing much more than that. He knew his magic was more attuned for Transfiguration and more combative spells, but he had hoped that the skills he was developing in regards of using his studies in magic and science would extend farther into the Healing Arts than being able to provide simple battlefield medical assistance. Sighing, and deciding that some skill was better than no skill, Harry resolved to at the very least completely master what he was able to do before looking up when the door to the Hospital Wing opened and Fred and George strolled in, their faces covered in soot and various burns.

"Madam Pomfrey! They're back!" Harry shouted, grinning as he led the twins over to a pair of beds. Upon closer inspection, he noticed that Fred's face was covered in blood spewing out of his nose, while rashes appeared and disappeared all over his body, and George had a blazing fever and kept fading in and out of consciousness.

"Let me guess, more experimentation?" Poppy asked wryly as she waved her wand over the two boys, glaring at Lee Jordan, who had trailed in after the two, and sighed. "Harry, dear, could you deal with the burns and the nosebleed? It's nothing more than a ruptured vessel that will need to be repaired magically."

Harry nodded and took care of Fred's nosebleed first, as his skin was starting to get rather pale and clammy, and he figured that should be the top priority. Once the rupture in Fred's nose was repaired, he went about vanishing the soot and healing the burns on both Weasley twins.

"Thanks, Harry," Fred said once the boils became his only concern. "We were just working on a new product."

"Whatever it is, it seems you took a mild poison and its cure at the same time," Harry said as he looked at the rashes crawling all around Fred's skin. "You might want to consider taking them separately, if a temporary rash was all you were going for."

"Blimey, Harry, that was bloody brilliant!" Lee exclaimed. "How'd you figure out what we were working on like that?"

Harry shrugged and grinned. "His rash keeps appearing and disappearing, but he isn't trying to scratch what looks like something that should be pretty itchy. Considering it's you guys, I figured you're probably trying to make something that looks like a rash severe enough to get sent here, then have it be miraculously cured once you're dismissed from class."

"All those books you been lending us seem to be doing more for you then us, mate," Fred replied jovially, snickering when Poppy shot a thin stream of glowing blue liquid into George's ear, making him yelp.

"Mind you, those ones on how to run a business, and manage money were a right Godsend," George added.

"I never would have thought of separating our personal accounts from the ones our profits go into."

"Now we just have to wait til we're seventeen so we can open a business account."

"Without Mum finding out."

"Owl me when you do," Harry replied following the conversation easily. "I can ask Griphook for a recommendation of account manager."

Fred and George both grinned, and Harry spent the rest of his time talking with them while he tended to the potions. Lee had been friendly enough, but it was clear to Harry that he didn't share the twins' views on him when he quickly excused himself as soon as Fred and George were given clean bills of health. Once the potions were complete, bottled, and stored, Harry returned to his office in a fairly good mood. He was just passing by a classroom on the sixth floor, having chosen to cut through some of the less populated hallways and avoid the stares he was sure to get, when he heard a soft hiccup. Frowning when he heard panting between shaky, failed attempts at deep breaths, Harry's mood completed its downward spiral as he saw an angry Marcus Flint round the far corner of the hallway.

"You're awfully far from the Slytherin common room, Flint," Harry noted, casually leaning against the door and wandlessly casting a locking charm on it while sending a pulse of magic out of his thigh towards the recording rune he had developed and always kept with him in case of these sort of situations. Unfortunately, a frightened squeak came through the door before Harry could follow up with the silencing charm, and Flint came storming over to tower over Harry.

"Move," Flint growled.

"Now why would I do that?" Harry replied casually.

"You can either move, or I move you, either way, I'm giving that little cunt what she deserves."

"Counter-offer, you turn around and head back to your common room before I give you more than just the week of detention you just earned yourself," Harry said, tensing his muscles as he prepared himself for what would come next.

"You're little wannabe-teacher act might scare the first years, Potter," Flint snarled. "But to the rest of us, you're still nothing more than a little runt. Now, move, or you'll be replacing her for the foreplay."

Harry was lucky that Kyddris was in the forest, as the flood of rage that went through the two of them would have definitely resulted in tomorrow's headline reading: _Harry Potter Sets Dragon Loose on Hogwarts Students._

"It sounds as if you're threatening me as well as another student, Flint," Harry said calmly, smirk in place as Flint took the bait.

"It ain't a threat if I go through with it." Flint reared his fist back and tried to punch Harry, but Harry simply slid out of the way, grabbing his arm and sweeping his legs with a kick before lightly tossing him over his shoulder. Letting go of Flint at the apex of his flight, the troll-like seventh year soared over Harry's shoulder, landing on the ground across the hall from where Harry stood. Flicking his left-hand wand out, Harry silently disarmed, stunned, and bound Flint before calling for Dobby.

"What can Dobby do for Master Harry, sir?"

"Dobby, I need you to take that," he jerked his head towards Flint with disdain and reached into his pocket to take out the recording rune, deactivating it with a tap of his wand before handing it Dobby, "and this to Severus. Once you're done, find Minerva, and bring her to me. Tell her it's urgent."

Dobby nodded and walked over to Flint, accidentally kicking him in the ribs as he grabbed the sorry excuse for a human being and vanished with a pop. Turning around, Harry unlocked the door and slowly opened it. As soon as he did, a small, blonde missile slammed into his chest.

"Harry!" Luna cried. Harry's anger grew as he looked over the quivering girl in his arms. Besides her underwear and a torn bra, she was completely nude, and there were several bruises all over her that looked quite fresh. "I knew you'd find me!"

Harry pulled Luna back slightly, removing his robe to wrap around her exposed form, leaving him in his pressed, white button-up when Dobby reappeared with a pop that frightened Luna, who whimpered and dove back into Harry's chest.

"Master Harry Potter, sir! Dobby is bringing your Mother-Lion-Lady after delivering the meany and the talky-rune to Professor Snake-Bat!"

"Thank you, Dobby," Harry replied. "You may leave now."

Dobby bowed and vanished while Minerva was looking between him and the shaking head of blonde hair clinging desperately to him. "What is going on here?" She asked dangerously. "Miss Lovegood, why are you undressed?"

"The Nargles," Luna mumbled. "They took my clothes. Would've been fine, but ran into _him._ Tripped as I tried to find Harry."

McGonagall looked about ready to chastise Luna for making up stories when Harry gave her a stern look before softening his gaze and directing Luna's eyes up to him. "Luna, these Nargles, are they in Ravenclaw?"

Minerva watched wide-eyed and full of guilt as the implication behind many of the fantastical stories Luna had told became clear when Luna sniffled and nodded meekly.

"Don't make me go back there, Harry, please," Luna begged, her voice more lucid than Harry had ever heard before. "I thought I would be safe there, but-but…"

"Don't worry, Luna, you won't have to," Harry replied soothingly. He reached into his bag and pulled out a bundle of parchment as he led Luna over to the desks where he sat down and she immediately clambered into his lap, soaking up the comfort he was providing that Minerva couldn't help but fondly describe as somewhere between fraternal and paternal. Tapping the parchment with his wand, Harry mumbled a phrase that Minerva hadn't heard in more than two decades, and a detailed map of the entirety of the Hogwarts grounds appeared. "Just point to their dots."

Minerva watched over Harry's shoulder as Luna pointed to three dots in the Ravenclaw common room with the names _Anthony Goldstein, Nanette Desford,_ and _Lisa Turpin._ Her eyes widened as she nearly choked on the rage-filled power flowing off of Harry in waves. Focusing her own ability to sense the magic around her, Minerva was amazed as she observed the turbulent storm of power whirling around the boy in her mind's eye –especially considering there still seemed to be something holding much of it back –and touched as it seemed to warp around the young Miss Lovegood, only the barely touching her, while even more magic seeped from Harry's very pores as he held Miss Lovegood to him and stroked her back. Tapping the map and deactivating it, Harry turned his attention to Minerva, a fire burning behind his eyes as he described his own altercation with Mister Flint.

"Professor McGonagall, I believe it would be prudent to fetch Professor Flitwick while I take Luna to my office. There should be some clothes for her there, and she'll be safe while I have a word with House Ravenclaw."

Minerva nodded and went off to fetch Filius. She knew that there would be no stopping Harry now that he had been set on the warpath, but hopefully she would be able to stop him from killing anyone (though were she not a teacher, she wouldn't have necessarily objected to _a little_ maiming). Grabbing Filius from his office, they hurried back to Harry's office, running into Poppy and Miss Greengrass on the way. The three of them arrived just as Harry opened the door and Minerva could see from the narrowing of his pupils into slits and the way that Harry was standing between them and Miss Lovegood as she sat, clothed and bundled under a blanket, in front of his fireplace that the primal instincts he had grown closer to due to his unique affliction were putting him on the defensive. 

"Miss Lovegood!" Filius squeaked. "Professor McGonagall told me you were involved in an incident with an older student! What happened?"

"Oh, hello Professor," Miss Lovegood mumbled distantly, snuggling closer to Harry's thunderbird, who had grown quite a bit and was perched next to her on the arm of the couch, draping one of its four wings around her shoulders. "It would seem Harry saved me and is off to our common room to have a word with a particularly mean-spirited trio of Nargles."

"I'll explain on the way," Minerva said as she, Filius, and Miss Greengrass followed Harry out the door while Poppy remained to look over Luna's injuries. It almost seemed as if Hogwarts herself was responding to his rage, as the torches dimmed, the windows shuddered, and the various suits of armor rattled menacingly. Before long, Harry had stormed right up to the entrance to Ravenclaw Tower while the rest of them hurried along behind him.

"What can pass before the sun, yet make no shadow?" The bronze eagle on the door asked pompously.

"Wind," Harry growled, barely stopping as the door opened and he stormed into the common room.

The Ravenclaw common room was large and circular. As one of the airiest places in the castle, the domed room had a fantastic view of much of the grounds, and Minerva had heard generations of students praise the soothing quality of the wind whistling around the tower, unaware that there was a charm to subtly create a sound conducive to relaxation. Now, however, the gale blowing through the tower was creating a high-pitch shriek that made everyone stop what they were doing and cover their ears in pain before it settled down to an ominous howl.

"What're you doing here, Potter?" Terry Boot asked.

"House Ravenclaw has failed one of their own," Harry declared ferociously as he glared around the common room. Minerva watched, stunned, as the students, many of whom were amongst the older ones who generally made Harry's already painful life more difficult, stared at him in fear. Standing before them, amidst the howling winds battering the tower, was not the sweet, quiet fourteen year old boy few got to see, nor the kind professor-in-the-making who was happy to help anyone should they only ask. Instead, the members of Ravenclaw House were seeing the young man who had lost his childhood and lived through torment. The warrior who had protected this school he considered home against threats that Minerva would have been hard pressed to overcome, and most recently, had killed a full-grown dragon racked by sorrow-induced insanity in what few would ever understand as an act of ultimate kindness through single combat. "You, who value intelligence, wit, and wisdom. You who are known for your _creativity, originality, and individuality._ Most importantly, the house praised for its _acceptance_ has either participated or stood by as one of your own was bullied, ridiculed, and ostracized. You are all disgraces to the title of Ravenclaw."

"What are you talking about, Potter?" Roger Davies asked, the bravado in his voice wavering and betraying his fear as Harry's head snapped in his direction and the thick miasma of magic surrounding him actually briefly became visible as a soft green glow, while everything around Harry seemed to warp slightly around him.

"As chosen by Hogwarts herself, I am Professor Potter to you, Davies," Harry growled before turning back to the rest of the students. "Just today, I found one of your own humiliated, bruised, and fleeing another older student who had plans to continue her violation. I will see the ones who did this to her punished. Anthony Goldstein, Nanette Desford, Lisa Turpin, step forward."

The three students who were called out did as told when they all saw how furious their Head of House looked as well. "The three of you have detention for the rest of the year, and you have each lost your house one hundred and fifty points," Harry growled. "On top of that, consider what you have done as an attack on the Most Ancient and Noble House of Potter and all of its allies. The heads of your houses will hear about this within the hour."

"P-Professor Potter?" A small third year asked, raising her hand. "C-C-Could you add House Clearwater to that list of those attacked? Luna's really nice, and she helps me with my Charms. I want to show her that I'm with her."

"House Patil adds its name to houses declaring a direct attack made against us as opposed to one on our most esteemed ally," one of the Patil twins declared proudly.

Harry nodded, his anger calming slightly before he turned his ire back on the rest of the house. "If I ever hear of this sort of thing happening again, the Headmaster and the Department of Magical Law Enforcement will be involved. This is the last warning for the entire school, so make sure the word is spread." Having said his part, Harry whirled around and stormed out of the common room, Miss Greengrass, the young Clearwater girl, and Miss Patil following behind him while Minerva and Filius took their turn to chastise the house of eagles, with promises to return for a second round after everyone had returned for curfew.


	14. Chapter 14

By the time Daphne had calmed Harry down, they had missed dinner. Together with Luna, who had asked if she could stay with Harry, they went to the kitchens for dinner with the elves before returning to his office, where the Clearwater girl who had asked Harry to add her family to the list of houses taking offence to the attack on Luna was waiting. As soon as she saw Luna, the girl nearly tackled Luna and started to sob apologies.

"I shouldn't have listened to you!" The girl cried. "You were friends with Professor Potter, you should have let us be friends too!"

"But then you wouldn't have any friends, Olivia," Luna stated matter-of-factly.

"I don't want any other friends if it means I can't be friends with you!"

Harry smiled and cleared his throat, drawing the girls' attention. "That was a very brave thing you did back in your common room, Olivia," Harry said. "Would you like to join us? I was just about to open up my office."

Olivia blushed and nodded, sticking by Luna's side for the entirety of the time Harry allowed students to come for help.

Within a week, word of Harry apparently breaking into the Ravenclaw Tower and threatening the Cruciatus Curse had started to make it around the school, while the _Prophet_ somehow learned the same thing with the exception of the implication that he would cast an Unforgiveable. Harry sighed as he walked to his office after lunch. The only news bigger than what he had done after the attack on Luna was the upcoming dance that Dumbledore had announced would take place on Christmas. This sparked a general atmosphere of either jubilance mixed with excitement, or panic and dread that usually correlated with gender of the people discussing the event. Harry knew he wanted to ask Daphne to the dance, but to do that, he had to actually _know_ how to dance first. For that reason, he had eaten a quick lunch after his duties in Arithmancy were finished and hurried up to his office, bumping into Professor Moody as he rounded the last corner. He had tried to apologise to the aging auror, but all he got was an angry grunt in reply as Moody hurried back down the hall. That confused him, as Moody had seemed to have taken an unhealthy interest in Harry this year, and their last encounter seemed strangely out of character. Not to mention that Harry's office, and the entrances to the Astronomy Tower and Divination classrooms were the only things in the area.

Listening to his gut, Harry opened his map and searched for Moody's name instead of Minerva's, like he had been intending to do. He looked near his office, but the only name he found was Barty Crouch. Idly wondering what the ministry official was doing in the school, seeing as the next event wasn't for another two months still, Harry was further confused by how Moody, who had a limp from an old injury on one leg, and a prosthetic on the other, had managed to get back to his office so quickly. Fear trickled down Harry's spine as he watched Crouch make his way for Moody's classroom and walked up to his office. He suddenly remembered the strange flask that Moody would randomly take swigs from throughout the day, and how he had thought that it smelled both familiar, and yet unlike any of the pain-relief potions Poppy had made him brew. Pouring over the map, Harry desperately searched for Minerva's name, not finding it by the time came for him to go to his next class: Defence Against the Dark Arts.

The next hour was spent with Harry putting everything he had learned about controlling his emotions to disguise the fact that anything was off. With luck, any suspicious behaviour would simply be attributed to the fact that Harry had always been uncomfortable around Moody. For the entire forty-five minute class, Harry forced himself to think only of helping the first years in class at the moment. Whenever his mind tried to wander and figure out why the stuffy man from the Ministry was disguising himself as their defence teacher, and how long he had been doing it for, Harry would force himself to look at the many potential victims that could be caught in the crossfire, and focus on maintaining his cover. Once the class was over, Harry pulled out the fourth year essays he had helped to mark, and shuffled through them for Daphne's.

"You not done with those essays yet, Potter?" Moody growled.

"Sorry, sir, I got distracted doing some research for the second task," Harry lied smoothly. The tournament had proven to be an excellent cover, if nothing else, to get away with most things. Finding Daphne's essay –which was nearly perfect because she hated Harry in particular proving her wrong (even if their bond told him that she secretly loved the challenge and the way she was improving) –he started scribbling a note in the margins to warn her what he had found.

"You know," Moody said casually, "Me and Longbottom were talking about how good gillyweed would be for exploring the bottom of the lake for treasures that had been lost or taken. Could easily stay down there looking around for an hour or more without coming back up for air if you had enough. I imagine there's probably some loot down in those murky depths that could make the cost for ordering it more than worth it."

Clamping down on his emotions, Harry proceeded to spend the rest of his time rereading Daphne's essay as he waited for the fourth years to arrive. Once they did, Harry handed out the essays, thankful that Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise were sitting near the back of the class, so there was no risk of one of the other students seeing his note. The next hour and a half were spent learning about Erklings, and then practicing hex-deflection. Harry's already dwindling patience made him particularly harsh with Ron when he tried to instigate a small duel with Malfoy, causing both boys to scowl when he gave them detention with Severus and Filch respectively.

"Alright, that's enough!" Moody/Crouch shouted. "Get out! Greengrass, Davis, Zabini, stay!"

Harry's heart stopped when his friends were forced to stay. Once the last student had left, Crouch waved his wand and the door slammed shut, making Tracey yelp while Blaise jumped. Not waiting for anything, Harry immediately shot a stunner at Crouch, which was easily deflected, but had the desired effect of taking his attention off of Harry's friends while Harry dove out of the way of a nasty orange spell that made the wall behind him start to melt.

Flexing his magic, Harry started hurling desks at Crouch and transfiguring them into all manner of weapons, and anything else he could think of between dodging Crouches spells and hurling his own. Shouting as a cutting curse hit his leg, Harry transfigured the blackboard behind Crouch into smoke that filled the air before retaliating with a streak of purple fire at the same time as a brownish-red light rocketed towards him, just barely grazing his ankle, but still causing Harry to drop to the ground and snarl in pain as white-hot knives seemed to stab through his entire body. His mind was torn between begging for the pain to end, and screaming at him to move for a never-ending handful of seconds before gloriously fading as the glancing blow of the curse forced it to mercifully wear off, and allowing Harry to sit up and lean against a desk.

"You can't hide from me, Potter!" Crouch shouted, firing a spell and blowing up the upturned desk Harry was behind as the smoke faded. "The Dark Lord may have ordered us to leave you for him, but surely he'll forgive me for seizing an opportunity when it presents itself! Now come out and face your death like a man! Or do I have to kill these three little hostages of mine."

"Harry! Don't do it!" Daphne screamed.

"He's just going to kill us anyway!" Tracey added, though Harry could hear the fear in her voice.

"You're the only one who stands a chance against him, Potter, don't do it!" Blaise finished.

There was a part of Harry that desperately wanted to listen to them. It screamed at him to stay behind the desk. To just stay alive, because surely someone had to hear the ruckus they were causing, and they would come with help.

 _But by then, they'll be dead,_ a quiet voice whispered. _She'll be dead, and you'll have done nothing._

Knowing what he needed to do, Harry took a deep breath and struggled to his feet from behind one of the few desks that were left. Walking out from behind it, he frowned as he saw a tall, spindly man standing in the middle of the classroom where he expected either a Moody replica, or Barty Crouch. Figuring that he didn't want his potential last thought to be another question, Harry turned to look at Daphne, smiling softly as he looked into her shining blue eyes. Placing his hands to his side, Harry fought to not react as he was reminded of the small lump he was carrying in his pocket. The man then raised his wand and he sprang into action. There was a flash of green and a loud _crack_ followed by the man slumping to the ground and screaming in pain, while Harry leapt in front of his friends, transforming into Nightfire mid-jump and blocking the shards of steaming ice that had flown in every direction with his impenetrable skin before transforming back and firing a quick series of spells to disarm, stun, and incarcerate the man.

He had just opened his mouth to call for Dobby when he heard a loud buzzing sound before the man suddenly vanished while a feeling of something breaking surged through Harry's mind, inexplicably telling him that the anti-portkey wards around the school had been shattered. Swearing violently, Harry turned to his friends and started checking them over for injuries while ordering Dobby to fetch Severus and Minerva. Daphne barely waited until he had finished speaking to fling herself at him and tightly wrap her arms around her neck, tears wetting his chest, which he belatedly realized was bleeding from a curse that must have hit him at some point during the duel.

Maintaining his grip on Daphne, Harry limped up the stairs to the office at the back of the class, blasting the door open with a thought. Looking around, he dimly focused on a trunk near the back of the room where he blasted open the lock before slumping to the ground. He was vaguely aware of Minerva and Severus showing up, Dumbledore on their heels, before screaming in pain as he was apparated to the Hospital Wing, where Poppy ran out and helped him into a bed.

"I told you we shouldn't move them like that!" He heard Minerva shout.

"Perhaps, but we cannot risk the rest of the school learning that there was an imposter in our midst," Dumbledore replied calmly. "The sooner we can get Alastor back into his class and clean up this mess, the better."

"You would have us cover up the fact that a mad man managed to infiltrate this school, and nearly _killed_ four students?!" Minerva shrieked.

"We cannot risk a panic until we know everything," Dumbledore said calmly while Poppy healed Harry's wounds.

"Headmaster, he shows signs of having been under the Cruciatus Curse," Poppy informed them, making everyone but Severus and Dumbledore gasp. "Not to mention that Alastor will require time to heal as well."

"Don't worry about me," the real Moody growled. "If Albus says we should keep this quiet, then we'll keep it quiet."

"And with the holidays so near, I'm sure Potter and Moody will have ample time to recover," Severus said coolly, channeling his anger for the man he would have once followed without question to maintain his façade.

"I trust you four will keep the events of today to yourselves as well?" Dumbledore asked, finally acknowledging Harry and the others crowded around his bed.

"Yes, Headmaster," Harry replied calmly. He could feel Daphne's shock through their bond as his three Slytherin friends hid their emotions. Harry felt a tickling at the back of his mind and looked away from the twinkling blue eyes.

"With that matter settled, I believe it would be prudent to examine the students' memories so that I may ascertain just who it was that snuck into the school, and why he would impersonate young Harry," Dumbledore said with a hint of finality.

"With all due respect, Headmaster," Harry retorted. "While I'd be more than happy to answer any questions you have, I'm not comfortable with people examining my memories like that."

A shadow passed in front of Dumbledore's eyes, momentarily blocking out his trademark twinkling, but it was gone faster than it came as Dumbledore merely smiled and nodded.

"I understand, Harry. In that case, you can tell Professor Snape what happened while I go and begin work on repairing the classroom you destroyed."

The subtle hint of disappointment in his tone was not lost on Harry, but he merely smiled and thanked the headmaster before watching as he strolled out of the Hospital Wing. Harry then waited for Moody to be put under with a potion before describing the events of that afternoon with Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise joining in where they could, particularly in the description of Harry's duel with the man impersonating Moody, as Harry's attention was more focused on stopping the man threatening him and his friends than memorizing the aspects of the fight for later study.

"Though I am loathe to admit it," Severus said once they were finished. "That map your father made with Black and the others is a rather impressive piece of magic. If it said that the man impersonating Moody was Barty Crouch, then that means that you must have been fighting his son Barty Crouch Jr."

"But he died in Azkaban over a decade ago," Poppy countered.

"Apparently not," Severus replied. "And if a Death Eater is involved…"

"Voldemort's involved," Harry finished, scowling at the way everyone flinched at his name. Even Daphne stiffened slightly. "And seeing as Crouch is most likely the one who put my name in the Goblet of Fire, that means that there's something going on behind the scenes, and the tournament is just a means to an end."

"How do you know?" Tracey asked. "Couldn't You-Know-Who have ordered him to force you into the tournament in an attempt to get you killed."

"I doubt it," Harry replied. "I've been reading some of the files on Tom Riddle while he was here. Based on what I've read, and the two times I spoke with him, he wouldn't be satisfied with their being a possibility of me somehow surviving. Plus, it wouldn't explain why Crouch was trying to help me in the tournament. He was the one who suggested I summon my broom to take on the dragon, and just before class started, he casually mentioned how gillyweed would be a good way to stay underwater for an extended period of time."

"I believe you're right, Harry," Severus added. "The Dark Lord is far too methodical to leave anything to chance. You even said yourself that Crouch mentioned his orders to keep you alive for him."

"So, we're left with yet more questions than answers," Minerva surmised. "Wonderful."

"Speaking of questions," Blaise said turning to Harry. "What spell is it that you keep using to block the Killing Curse? That's the third time in a row you've managed to stop it."

"Oh, that," Harry chuckled sheepishly while Tracey mumbled something about not being surprised to have seen the Killing Curse three times in less than six months. "It's kinda complicated."

"Harry, I know you are not prone to sharing," Severus said quietly. "Especially when it pertains to anything regarding your personal studies and training. But if you've managed to come up with a way to reliably counter that abomination of magic, we _need_ to know."

Looking between the five sets of pleading eyes, Harry tensed at the idea of disclosing his skills. He knew that Dumbledore had a vested interest in seeing him not reach his full potential –the bindings on his magic that he was _still_ shedding were proof of that –and if he learned of what Harry was capable of, it would undo almost everything Harry had worked towards since learning about the truth of his heritage, and the secrets in his blood. Dumbledore would see that Harry was growing too fast, and would restrict his magic once again. He would finally notice that the various tracking methods he had placed on Harry had failed, and without a doubt, Harry knew he would be back at Privet Drive before he could do anything. Even disclosing the discoveries Harry had made through his studies could be dangerous. He and Dumbledore were somewhat aligned at the moment, but Harry knew that his desire for independence and Dumbledore's wish for control had set them on a collision course, and he was wary of giving up any potential advantage. Especially after seeing that the headmaster wasn't above using subtle Legillimency to try and gleam secrets from his students.

"Harry, I have made several mistakes concerning you," Minerva confessed softly, drawing Harry out of his thoughts. "You, more than anyone, have the right to be distrustful of those around you. Between Dumbledore's attempts at manipulating you, the Ministry trying its hardest to smear your name through the dirt, and V-Vo-Voldemort and his forces trying to kill you, I can see why you would need to play things supremely close to the vest. That's why I swore that vow to you in September. I knew that it would be the only gesture you would accept. But I beg you to remember that withholding all information in the interest of security is exactly what Dumbledore has done, and his secrecy cost people their lives –your parents among them. Don't turn into the very thing you are rebelling against."

Looking between the five of them, Harry stopped on Daphne. Her blue eyes shone, and she gave his hand a comforting squeeze as he sighed in defeat and reached his free hand into his pocket, pulling out the impressive, plum-sized diamond he normally kept with him.

"This is how I did it," Harry began, handing the diamond to Severus.

Severus examined the diamond carefully, eyes widening in awe as he handed it to Minerva.

"Harry, are these Runes?" Minerva asked as the carvings in the jewel glowed a warm green, showing a design that depicted an intricately carved tree, its winding branches reaching down to link with the system of roots to form a circle around the trunk. Looking closely, Minerva could see that many of the branches and roots seemed to actually be composed of tiny runes.

"Yeah," Harry replied uncomfortably, unconsciously pulling Daphne closer as he struggled to open himself up to them. "There are still a few kinks to work out, but it's the best I've been able to come up with."

"I've never seen an array like this," Severus murmured. "Nor have I ever seen something so complex carved into something so small.

"That's because you're not really looking at the array," Harry explained. "I wanted to come up with a way to create complex arrays that could both be compressed without having to shrink the receiver, and hidden so that an expert can't deconstruct them and steal my designs."

"So, how does this particular array work?" Poppy asked.

"And why did you inscribe it on a diamond, of all things?" Daphne added.

"The Killing Curse is especially dangerous because no magical shield can stop it," Harry explained. "The only times people have been able to stop it is by conjuring something to physically block the spell. However, conjuring is a difficult thing to do successfully, let alone with a bolt of green death flying at you, so I went for something easier. I have it cast a freezing charm."

"But the freezing charm only works on water," Tracey retorted. "Those weird steaming blocks of ice just… appear, out of thin air!"

"That's exactly what they do," Harry replied. "Magic is a form of energy that bends to the will of the witch or wizard using it. The array I designed casts a freezing charm, while sucking the energy out of the air to make itself stronger. Since heat is another form of energy, the air cools extremely rapidly, turning into a liquid that the freezing charm then turns solid, which makes a block of ice that forms almost instantly in front of the Killing Curse. The block stops the curse as soon as it comes within twenty-five feet, which is the radius of the detection ward surrounding the rune, and the explosion from the impact and rapid change in air pressure sends shards of frozen air everywhere. The reason it steams is because it's a few hundred degrees below the point where water freezes, and it's heating back up so fast that it doesn't have time to melt. Unfortunately, I haven't figured out a way to reliably keep the shards from flying everywhere, but as long as you are still trying to dodge the spell, you're likely to be fine."

"So this is what you have been doing with all those muggle texts," Minerva concluded. "You've found a way to mix magic with their sciences to reliably overcome what is generally thought of as the most dangerous and powerful spell ever created. Fascinating!"

"I presume the diamond has some importance as well, then?" Severus asked.

Harry nodded. "Diamond is particularly good for channeling magic. It makes it so that the already tiny amount of magic needed to keep the Runes activated is even more reduced as well as being the material able to conduct the most amount of magic through it before burning out."

"Harry," Daphne whispered in shock. "Do you understand the significance of this?"

"Yeah, I figured once I had worked out the kinks, Griphook would help me get them into distribution, and then people wouldn't be nearly as afraid of Voldemort and his Death Eaters anymore," Harry replied easily.

"Harry, the importance of this discovery goes beyond national security," Minerva explained. "It's safe to assume you have found other ways to combine science and magic, correct?" Harry nodded, still confused as Minerva shook her head in astonishment. "Harry, no one has ever thought of doing this before. The closest the Wizarding World has come to exploring the muggle ways of understanding of the universe is the basics of Astronomy, and Alchemy. What you are trying –and succeeding –to do, has the very real potential to become a brand new branch in the study of magic, if not revolutionize the subject as a whole."

"I was just curious," Harry said awkwardly, seeming to shrink in on himself.

"All the greatest minds are," Poppy said. "Now, I'm afraid that I'm going to need everyone to leave if I'm to patch these two up enough to maintain appearances, as per this horribly unethical idea of Dumbledore's."

*(OoO)*

About a month had passed since the duel between Harry and Crouch Jr. and, save for Neville and Susan, no one in the school seemed to be any the wiser. Harry and Moody did fantastic jobs covering up the fact that they were in any pain, with Moody seamlessly taking over the class everyone had thought he was already teaching. Daphne couldn't decide who the better actor was: Crouch for his near flawless impersonation of Moody and his many… eccentricities, or Harry, who hid the residual pain his body was in from the effects of the Cruciatus Curse better than the veteran auror. That thought always brought a frown to Daphne's face as she thought about what it must have taken for Harry to get so good at acting like everything was fine. Not even their bond could provide her much insight, as the only hint she got that he was in any pain was a touch of discomfort over the connection between them.

Knowing that he already dwelled on the fight more than he should, Daphne and the others had taken to trying to distract him with things that kids their age were supposed to worry about. So far, a mixture of asking for his help with their homework, Padma providing whatever latest gossip her sister and Lavender had forced her to listen to, and generally acting their age for once had worked to keep Harry's mind from wandering. Even better was the fact that Madam Pomfrey had declared that Harry's ability to progress in the Healing Arts had plateaued, which led to her giving him Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays off, while Daphne had been found to be rather proficient with the field, leading to the hour he had between the end of classes and his personal training was now generally spent with her. On their days off, she and Harry would head outside and walk around, generally wandering to anywhere with magical creatures for Harry to spend time with. Madame Maxime had even come out and started to speak with them when she saw how much her Abraxans seemed to enjoy Harry's company.

They quickly found that she was a fountain of knowledge, having traveled all over the world, and sharing stories of her adventures when she was not gazing dreamily at Hagrid. Every time they spoke with her, they came away having learned something new –which Daphne observed seemed to be the quickest way into Harry's good graces (assuming his instincts didn't tell him otherwise) –and Daphne soon started to bond with Fleur as well, having, mostly, gotten over her irrational jealousy of how close she and Harry seemed to be after having a quiet tete-a-tete one day while Harry was helping some first years with their Levitation Charms after they approached him out by the lake.

"You know you 'ave no reason to be jealous, non?" Fleur asked quietly, making Daphne whip her head around fast enough to make her neck crack and snap up her mental barriers in case Harry felt the sudden rush of emotion.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about," Daphne stuttered, staring intently at a thestral she could just see across the lake and cursing her fair complexion as it glowed pink against her will.

"I am sure zat you are aware of my veela 'eritage, correct?" Fleur asked.

"What about it?"

"Because of zee allure, it 'as always been… difficult to make friends," Fleur explained sadly. "I am forced to maintain a level of self-control at all times, and even zen, it causes men to act like buffoons at best and monster at worst. Because of zis, women look upon me and my kind wiz scorn and disgust –fearful zat we will swoop in and seduce zeir 'usbands away from zem."

"That sounds pretty lonely," Daphne replied sadly. "When my mother found out she was pregnant with me, the House of Greengrass found itself faced with the potential of a scandal. We were already hemorrhaging money due to a lack of allies and surplus of threats, and if word got out that the heiress to the Noble House of Greengrass had gotten herself pregnant with no knowledge of who the father was, it would spell the end for our family. The only solution was to hurriedly accept a marriage proposal from the wealthy Temple family, which would absolve us of our debts at the cost of Cyrus Temple becoming the new Lord Greengrass. Only my mother and I know the secret of the circumstances surrounding my birth, and I've been forced my whole life to lock down my emotions and play nice with people who made me sick every time they opened their mouths. In public, I have to play the part of the frigid Heiress Greengrass, so that others will keep away from me, while in what should be the safety of my home, I have to carefully think through my every action lest they invite my father's ire."

"It seems like zee two of us are well acquainted wiz loneliness," Fleur remarked.

"When I came to Hogwarts, I finally had a chance to make friends. Only I was sorted into a house filled with the same kind of people as my father. Tracey and Blaise were the only two I could get along with, and even then, we were all forced to hide behind masks just so that we wouldn't be targeted. That all changed when we happened to stumble into Harry's compartment on the train last year. He accepted us, even going against his very best friends because he didn't like the way they treated us. We had to tiptoe around our friendship with him last year; been seen with him enough to let people think we were under his protection, but not enough to arouse suspicions that we might be traitors to the ideologies so many in Slytherin followed. This year, with the tournament, among other things, and Harry's promotion, we've been free to really be close with him, without having to hide in the library or abandoned classrooms. And the more I get to know him, the more I see that he has suffered through more than any single person ever should. The fact that he is so sweet and caring is a testament to his character."

"Eet sounds as eef you care for 'im very much," Fleur said quietly.

Daphne nodded turning her head to watch fondly as Harry instructed the first years on the proper way to move their wands. "I do. I also know that, due to certain circumstances, there's no way he can fall for you –or anyone for that matter –and yet, I can't stop this feeling from creeping up whenever I see you two together."

"It ees as you said," Fleur replied. "'Arry and I get along very well because we understand zee loneliness of 'aving everybody's eyes on you all zee time. Zee fact zat 'e is immune to my allure is nice too."

Daphne chuckled. "Of course he is. Yet another thing that makes him special. I bet he loves that."

"In zis case, he does not complain. But zee interesting zing ees zat you are zee reason why 'e is immune."

"What do you mean?"

"Zeir ees a connection between you two stronger zen anyzing I 'ave ever seen," Fleur explained. "Eet ees zanks to zis zat 'e ees unaffected by my allure. Zee connection ees simply too strong for somezing like my allure to get in zee way of."

Daphne smiled as she remembered the conversation with Fleur. Having shared the secrets of her past with the other champion, Daphne had started to see Fleur as a sort of older sister figure. This reminded her of the hilarity that had ensued around Harry as the date of the Yule Ball got closer and closer. While Daphne had no trouble viciously turning down any potential suitors hoping to bring her as their date, Harry simply didn't have the heart to do anything other than let the growing crowd of girls down easy whenever they cornered him in the hall. Almost the entirety of the third year female population seemed determined to be his date, as they would not be able to attend otherwise, and Daphne had thought it was only a matter of time until Harry caved when Angelina, Katie, and Alicia had suddenly started sitting with him and scaring away anyone looking to harass him.

The look of confusion on Harry's face had been both adorable and heartbreaking as he tried to figure out how he had suddenly gotten himself three sixth year lionesses as bodyguards. Daphne noticed that all three girls seemed to consider Harry as their own surrogate little brother, and was glad that there were more people who would be protective of him, even going so far to scare away Granger when she tried to approach Harry one evening during his open study session. As well as surrogate older siblings in the pretty much the entirety of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Daphne had also seen how Luna and her friend Olivia hung around Harry whenever they could as well as her own little sister.

When Harry had idly commented how similar he thought Daphne and Astoria were, Daphne had realized that Tori had yet to reveal that she was related to Harry's best friend. When Daphne asked her little sister why she hadn't told him yet, Astoria merely shrugged and said that it hadn't come up before convincing Daphne of how funny it would eventually be when he realized the connection between them. It warmed Daphne's heart seeing how well her little sister, one of the two or three people she could without a doubt say she loved above all others, got along with her best friend. It made silly schoolgirl visions of a future she would _not_ admit to hoping for flash across her mind's eye and invade her dreams, and as the end of term neared, Daphne couldn't help but wonder what Harry would look like all dressed up.

"Why do they have to be so… unapproachable," Neville complained one night in Harry's office during his study session. Earlier that day, he had stuttered his way through trying to ask Marietta Edgecomb to the ball, only to find that she had left by the time he had managed to finish the question.

"It's not as hard as you think," Blaise replied casually over the book he was reading near Harry's fireplace. Daphne was seated nearby helping a Hufflepuff girl with her second year Potions homework, and shook her head at her friends' antics, making the girl giggle.

"Oh, please," Tracey groaned. "You're not even going to the dance and girls are throwing themselves at your feet. Let the rest of us mortals complain about not having the guts to ask who we want to."

Daphne caught the way her oldest friend glanced across the room at where Susan was speaking quietly with Fred and George Weasley, and restrained a sad sigh. It was bad enough that Tracey was ostracized in Slytherin for her parentage, the fact that she had to hide who she was just made life even harder.

"You know you complain a lot," Harry quipped as he walked over to help another student who had raised their hand with a question on their Charms homework.

"You're almost as bad as Blaise!" Tracey shot back. "Half the female population is competing to be your date, and yet you still haven't asked anyone! Didn't you say that you and the other champions were, like, the only ones who actually _needed_ dates?"

That made Harry pause as he considered Tracey's words, before a delightful mixture of mischief and hopefulness flowed from him to Daphne, making her chest fill with warmth.

"I did say that, didn't I?" His grin turned positively devious as he turned around and called across the room. "Hey, Sunshine, you wanna go to the ball with me?"

Daphne fought down the embarrassed heat that threatened to flood her cheeks, and turned to stare at him neutrally. He had taken off his robe and blazer in the warmth of the office, and he had the sleeves of his tight, white button up rolled up to expose his toned forearms. A few locks of hair had escaped the low ponytail he kept his shoulder-length hair in, and they framed his face perfectly as his green eyes glowed. Fighting the heat as it threatened to spread to distinctly more embarrassing parts of her body, Daphne decided to play along with his little act and shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not. But if you step on my toes during the opening dance, I get free reign to hex you in the bits."

"Fair enough," Harry replied casually, though not even his own mental barriers could stop the tidal wave of his happiness from washing over her. As Daphne rolled her eyes good-naturedly and turned back to helping the stunned girl before her, she couldn't decide if she should be happy or not about the fact that the feelings Harry was projecting told her that, on the conscious level, he was simply ecstatic about getting to spend the night with her in a purely platonic sense. If she dove deeper into his feelings –an ability she was somewhat guilty about practicing –she could feel the hints of an emotion more powerful than anything she had ever felt. It had taken hours of intense analysis of Harry's emotions for her to finally come to a conclusion about what it was.

She wasn't really a fan of using their bond to psychoanalyze her best friend, but considering how repressed Harry was even before the inability to properly articulate his thoughts and feelings, she knew that it was sometimes necessary to properly understand what was going on his head, and it became easier and easier the more she did it. When she had finally figured out and identified the strange, overwhelming feeling and its presence in a sort of limbo between his conscious and subconscious feelings, Daphne had to cast silencing wards around her bed as she was afraid her heartbroken sobbing would wake her roommates.


	15. Chapter 15

As the term wound down to a close, Harry became more and more reclusive, stating he was working on something with his studies. This behaviour suddenly reversed when all the exams started, as he was suddenly without many responsibilities and spent most of his time with Fleur and the Beauxbatons students while his friends were trapped in exams. Pretty soon, the term came to an end, and Harry found himself hanging around either in Minerva's office or his own. He still made time to go outside and visit all of his non-human friends, the cold not fazing him after a simple warming charm –even his morning swims were comfortable thanks to the simple spell –but after sharing some of what he had discovered through his studies, he and Minerva had grown closer than ever. The time they shared discussing his studies and theories was some of the most fun Harry ever had, having finally found someone within the school that he could finally share his more complex thoughts with. Their little chats also did wonders towards helping him relax around others.

Normally, Severus was the only adult at Hogwarts Harry had found he could relax around –and that was after more than a year of getting to know each other –but Minerva had something about her that made Harry feel he didn't have to constantly look over his shoulder, or think carefully about what he said. The times when she and Poppy joined Harry in his office for tea were some of his favourites as they regaled him with stories of their youth, as well as those about his parents while they were at Hogwarts. In fact, it turned out that Minerva and his mother had been quite close, with Harry's father not far behind once they started dating. In fact, it was Minerva who had given his father and Sirius the clandestine help and information they needed to secretly become animagi. Harry was flabbergasted to learn that the strict, by-the-book woman he had come to know had assisted three students in committing what amounted to a dangerous felony. Even more shocking was what she had asked him soon after sharing this tidbit.

"Harry, Poppy and I would like to ask your permission for something," Minerva began, her fists clenching in her lap nervously.

"What do you need my permission for?" Harry asked curiously.

Taking a deep breath, Minerva looked him determinedly in the eye, making sure that he could see the sincerity in her own forest green eyes. "We would like to ask to be present during your next full moon."

Harry froze, his eyes widening as he suddenly started looking around Minerva's office for exits and eavesdroppers. Daphne had taken the day to go with their friends to Hogsmeade in order to do some last-minute Christmas shopping, so Harry found himself alone in with the two older women. "W-Why would you want to do that?" He asked, quickly putting himself back under control.

"We've both seen hints of the beast inside of you, Harry," Poppy explained. "And while there is a part of us both that want to see how this particular transformation differs from that of a normal were-wolf or animagus, we mostly want to have a chance to meet the side of you that you keep hidden from everyone but Severus and Miss Greengrass."

"What's there to meet?" Harry muttered. "Nightfire's a beast. I don't act all that weird when I change, all things considered."

"Then, would you accept that we simply want to be with you during that time?" Minerva asked softly. "You know that I too am an animagus, I would be able to help with entertaining this… Nightfire, since I know Messiers Black and Lupin won't be able to make it this month."

Harry remained silent for about ten minutes as he warred with himself over whether or not to allow them to join in what he considered to be a _very_ personal time.

"Fine," he eventually muttered. "But Daphne has to be there. Normally we see how long I can fight the moon's influence, but if I'm going to change without resistance, then we should have her there just in case."

*(OoO)*

Christmas approached at a breakneck pace for Harry. Though that probably had more to do with the fact that he was dreading the full moon that would be taking place two days before the event. Daphne felt similarly as she went over the pros and cons of bringing Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey into their tightly-knit circle of trust. Both of them knew of Harry's animagus form, but neither had seen it, meaning Daphne was in the position of potentially having to run damage control when the two older women found themselves face to face with an eight-foot tall, half-lion-half-draconic creature that night. Sighing as she rounded the last corner before Harry's office, Daphne yelped as someone grabbed her arm in vice-like grip and slammed her against the wall.

Looking up, she stared fearfully into the strangely blank eyes of Professor Trelawney, the Divination Professor.

 _"Queen of White, Lady of Black, and Heart of Knight,"_ Trelawney rasped in a ghostly voice. " _Over ocean and desert, lead boy-turned-man toward birthright. Through fire and ice, the Silver King will fight. Bone of father, flesh of faithful, blood of foe. Brought together in defence of Heart and Home. While Black sows sorrow from the shadows, White will blind all with his light. Queen of White, Lady of Black, Heart of Knight."_ As suddenly as it started, Professor Trelawney was back to normal, wandering off back down the hall, seemingly not even noticing Daphne.

 _That can't be good,_ she thought to herself, pulling open the door to Harry's office. Professor Trelawney was widely regarded as a fraud by those who knew her, but something about the ghostly presence behind her eyes set Daphne on edge. Plus, her wording was annoyingly similar to another painfully vague prophecy she had heard just a year before. Resolving to speak with Professor Snape about it, Daphne cursed herself for ever opening that stupid compartment on the train and getting herself embroiled in all of this, before setting the strange encounter aside for the moment.

Inside his office, Harry was reclining on his couch, dozing in front of the fire. Daphne smiled, having noted that the days before the full moon always seemed to bring out some of Harry's more cat-like tendencies, casual laziness being the funniest. Sneaking over to him and gently taking the book he had been reading off his chest, Daphne yelped as Harry's hand suddenly shot out and pulled her over the back of the couch, onto his chest. With her securely draped along his body, Daphne giggled when she laid her head down and felt Harry's chest rumble beneath her ear alongside the soothing rhythm of his heartbeat. Sighing in mock defeat, Daphne wiggled herself into a more comfortable position on his chest and enjoyed the peaceful silence as she stared at the mantelpiece before her, watching the framed picture of a baby Harry giggling in the arms of his parents as they smiled and waved at her.

She was nearly asleep when the door to the office opened and Harry stiffened as he took a sniff of the air, relaxing slightly when he recognised the scents of Professor McGonagall and Madam Pomfrey.

"Evening Professor, Madam Pomfrey," he greeted lazily.

"Well the attempt at maintaining your professionalism in front of a student is admirable Harry," Minerva said with a slight smile. "I would think, given the nature of tonight's visit, that we can all dispense with the formalities."

"Fine by me," Harry replied as he tightened his arms around Daphne once more rising to his feet. "So, before the change begins, I'd like to go over some ground rules, as I'll be unable to even properly remember tonight once I give in to Nightfire."

"By that, do you mean in the same way a werewolf does not remember what they did during their transformation?" Poppy asked, taking a pad and quill out of the small bag at her waist.

"Not quite," Harry replied. "When a werewolf doesn't take Wolfsbane, the entire night is a complete blank for them. However, if I surrender myself to my instincts, then I will remember events and major actions taken, but I won't be able to recall anything said, as Nightfire's understanding of human speech is based off of an understanding of the speaker's emotions, rather than the meaning of the words they use."

"Is that why Remus didn't remember that night he stumbled across us with Sirius and Professor Snape?" Daphne asked.

Harry nodded, his eyes twinkling. "His senses were enhanced enough by the impending full moon that he smelled Sirius nearby, and took off after him without taking his potion. Because of that, Uncle Moony didn't remember anything past stepping outside to hunt Sirius down, which turned out to be lucky for us, since we all would have had a hard time explaining where the monster beat the stuffing out of his wolf had come from."

"You fought a full-grown feral werewolf in your animagus form, and _won?_ " Minerva asked.

Once again, Harry nodded, but was cut off before he could reply by a small pop as Tipsy suddenly appeared with Hedwig on her arm.

"A letter from the Lady Greengrass, Sir," Tipsy said with a bow while Hedwig flew over to the golden perch near the window, where Zephyr was dozing.

"Why would my mother be sending you letters?" Daphne asked.

"She wanted my opinion on some plans she had for this summer," Harry replied vaguely. "I don't think I'm supposed to tell you yet."

"I guess I can live with that," Daphne conceded.

Tipsy placed the letter on Harry's desk, and bowed when Minerva told her to relay their greetings to Remus and Sirius, who were both unable to make it due to other engagements and Harry continued where he had left off. "This will be the first time in a long time that I've decided to allow the moon to change me, as opposed to just pre-emptively using my animagus form, so please don't worry if the process looks particularly… uncomfortable. Lastly, while I'm changed, Daphne has my permission to answer any questions you may have."

Both women nodded and Minerva stepped forward while a window directly facing the rising moon appeared on the wall, creating a silver beam of light. "Once again, thank you for sharing this with us Harry. It warms my heart to see you trying to open up around others."

Harry scratched the back of his head and chuckled sheepishly. "Well, a wise woman knocked some sense into me."

Minerva's heart swelled at the easy, open expression on the boy's face. If it weren't for the vicious scar running across his face, he would actually look like a regular fourteen year old boy. That illusion was broken, however, when Harry took a deep, steadying breath, and stripped himself down to his boxers, revealing the many, many scars that apparently were mostly there before he even came to Hogwarts, according to Poppy. They watched as he stepped into the pillar of moonlight, and Minerva had to wince at the violence of his transformation. She had, thankfully, never been around a werewolf when they changed, but she had heard descriptions of what it was like. Nothing she had heard, however, could have prepared her for the _sound_ of the transformation. Her time in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement and participation in the last war had hardened Minerva towards most gruesome sights, and she was easily able to steel herself as she watched Harry's body grow and morph, his skin and muscles tearing as his skeleton rearranged itself. What she did have trouble dealing with, however, was the loud _snap_ as his bones broke and changed shape while his joints _popped_ into their new position. Then there was the _wet_ tearing of his ligaments reattaching themselves to his new skeletal structure while his skin sounded like soggy parchment being _ripped_ in half.

Finally, mercifully, the process was completed after about a minute and a half. Minerva and Poppy now found themselves staring up into the glowing green eyes of Nightfire, the chimera.

"He's… _massive,_ " Poppy gasped, breath hitching as Nightfire started to walk towards them, sniffing the air and ground until he was directly in front of Minerva, who had frozen in place so as not to potentially set him off with any sudden movements.

"Alright, Wildcat, you've had your fun," Daphne said with mock reproach. "Now stop scaring them."

Their fears were abated when the normally put-together professor found herself subjected to a rough tongue from cleft to crown, mussing her tight bun and sending hairs sticking up in all directions as Nightfire rubbed his massive cheek against her with a rumbling purr before doing the same to Poppy.

Once he was done greeting them, he turned his attention to Daphne, and both of them were treated to a sight few ever did see. Daphne Greengrass, Ice Queen of Slytherin House, was _giggling_ as a giant eight-foot chimera was purring and rubbing along her as if it were an overly affectionate kitten.

"I've never seen an animagus like this before," Minerva commented, smiling when Nightfire lay down and Daphne sat between his forelegs, nestled into his thick, obsidian mane. "You two must be very close if he even recognises you as a friend when only listening to his instincts."

Daphne's smile faded slightly as she watched Nightfire saunter over to Zephyr and Hedwig briefly before eventually returning to where they had gathered around the couches once more. "It's actually thanks to his instincts that we could become as close as we are," she confessed. "Harry's animagus form is a chimera made up of a wyvern and a Nemean Lion. Soon after the werewolf had attacked and Zephyr rescued him, Harry went to Gringotts. While there, he accidentally imprinted on me. Because of that, there's a bond between the two of us that allows us to have some limited insight into what the other is feeling."

"Astounding," Minerva breathed. "For someone to have a chimera animagus comprised of two magical creatures such as those. He must be nigh on invincible in this form."

"Almost," Daphne agreed. "We have found that there are limits to the protection this form gives him. Such as the fact that it's only his skin that's unbreakable. Hit him hard enough, and his bones will still break."

"Like in his battle with the dragon," Poppy remarked.

"He would have lost his leg from that first blow from its tail if he weren't as skilled in partially transfiguring himself as he is," Daphne explained. "And while he managed to protect himself from the brunt of the damage of having boiling hot blood drench him when he sliced open its foot, the marks are on his face and chest that already opened wounds are not protected. Plus, given the fact that his capacity for rational thought diminishes in this form, and it takes a decent amount of concentration to partially transfigure himself on the fly, he tends not to use it in a fight unless he has to."

At this point, Nightfire had once again gravitated back to Daphne and curled himself up around her. Both Poppy and Daphne giggled when he oriented himself to curl around Daphne while stretching his head up to where Minerva was sitting on one of the loveseats and rest his massive head in her lap. Minerva couldn't restrain her fond smile as she looked into the eyes of the boy who had privileged her with his trust, even after her years of failing to earn it from him.

"It seems you can take the boy out of Gryffindor, but you can't take the Gryffindor out of the boy, eh, Minerva?" Poppy asked teasingly.

Running her fingers through the thick fur of his ebony mane, tears stung her eyes as Minerva leaned down and pressed a soft kiss between his eyes before resting her forehead against his own.

"I've never seen him act like this with anyone but me," Daphne commented, amazed. "He hardly even lets Sirius or Professor Snape touch him in this form, and their arguably two of his favourite humans."

"You two must have grown awfully close while he helped with your class," Poppy noted, her teasing tone replaced with one of fondness.

"It's as you said, Poppy," Minerva replied quietly, sitting back up as she absently scratched behind Nightfire's ear. "Just because he is no longer in my house does not mean I no longer consider him one of my cubs."

"Even though the rest of Gryffindor thinks otherwise?" Daphne asked defensively.

"Daphne, I can honestly say that the behaviour Gryffindor House has shown is my greatest disappointment. Were it not for the Weasley Twins, Misses Johnson, Bell, and Spinnet, and Mister Longbottom, I would have been sorely tempted to request my removal as Head of House. I mean it when I tell the first years that the Houses they will be sorted into will be there families while they are at Hogwarts. To see my own turn its back on one of our own is truly heartbreaking."

"Yeah, well, Harry's not exactly had the best track record with people who are supposed to be his family," Daphne muttered bitterly.

"You're referring to those _monsters_ with whom Harry had been left after the deaths of his parents?"

"He still has nightmares about them," Daphne admitted sadly. "Sometimes, he'll be sleeping and he'll just… freeze. Every one of his muscles will lock up, and he'll become deathly silent. Sometimes he'll speak during them, which is how I know that they would beat him if he was too loud in his sleep. They… _conditioned_ him to suffer in complete silence. And then, being abandoned by Granger and Weasley, which just served to make him even more afraid of getting close to others."

After that, they moved onto lighter topics as Daphne informed Minerva of how her training with Poppy was going, and plans for the upcoming dance (which made both women smirk mischievously). Eventually, Daphne fell asleep nestled up with Nightfire after several rounds of tag between him and Minerva in her own feline form. Daphne couldn't help but giggle when Minerva was at one point riding on top of his head, and had used a magical camera that Harry's office had provided her to take a picture of the two. The next morning saw an extremely embarrassed Harry pinned, naked, to the floor of his office by Daphne, and she couldn't help but giggle as he scampered back to his room to get dressed after he had finally gotten her off of him.

Christmas Eve was spent quietly in Harry's office with Daphne reading one of Harry's science textbooks while he spoke jovially with an ashwinder that had slithered out of the coals of his fireplace. Eventually, the ashwinder collapsed into dust and Harry went about freezing the left behind eggs so that he could give them to Severus as an extra Christmas gift. He had finished all but one of the eggs when he realised that the last egg seemed different than the others. While the rest of the eggs looked like hot coals before being frozen to look like… frozen coals… this last one looked as if it was made of solidified shadow while spidery, flaming orange veins decorated its surface and was much larger than the rest. Reaching out with his magic, Harry excitedly called Daphne over.

"What's that?" Daphne asked, looking at the strange egg. It seemed to radiate heat and cold at the same time, and Daphne couldn't help but feel drawn to it. Harry watched in anticipation as she crouched and scooped the egg –which she vaguely noted was roughly the size of the golden egg resting on Harry's mantelpiece –into her arms. As soon as she was cradling it, Daphne gasped as a surge of magic pulsed through the room and the egg melted through her arms into a shadowy puddle on the floor. Her eyes widened, and she was rooted to where she stood as the puddle rose up and started to take a new shape. When the blob had finally solidified, Daphne found herself staring into the glowing red eyes of a pitch black puppy. The puppy yipped, and Daphne felt a surge of happiness as she dropped to her knees and allowed it to tackle her, licking her face with a small, cool tongue and making her giggle.

"It's good to meet you too, girl!" Daphne laughed as the puppy continued to excitedly wag its tail and look down at her happily from its place on her chest. "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I might be able to answer that," Harry said, seating himself on the floor next to Daphne and the puppy. "Near as I can tell, this little sweetheart has chosen you as her familiar."

"Is that true, girl?" Daphne asked, looking into the puppy's burning red eyes. The puppy yipped again in joy before running in circles as she tried to grab her own tail. Eventually, she became dizzy and stumbled over her own feet. Daphne reached out to catch her, but yelped when the puppy seemed to melt into the shadows and vanish entirely, only to reappear on Daphne's shoulder. "I guess I'll take that as a yes. What kind of creature is she?"

"That, Sunshine, is a hellhound," Harry explained. "They can grow to massive sizes, and instantaneously travel anywhere through shadows, though there are certain limitations to the ability."

"A hellhound, huh?" Daphne murmured, finally noticing that the puppy who had dozed off in her arms had a tail that ended in a flared point. It's sleek, black fur was smooth, and felt almost like the thin strip of middle ground where Nightfire's own fur met his scales. "Well then, you're going to need a name." As she said this, the puppy opened her eyes to look at Daphne, her tail wagging weakly before yawning tiredly. "How about… Rosie? For those pretty red eyes of yours. You like that?" Apparently Rosie did as she tiredly reached up and licked Daphne's chin before curling back up in her arms and going to sleep.

"Come on," Harry said, standing before helping Daphne up as well. "We need to take her to Minerva and properly register her as your familiar, seeing as you won't be crucified by the media like Kyddris and I would be if I revealed him. After that, we can take her down to visit Hagrid, he'll definitely want to meet her and can give you some information to help take care of her."

Daphne nodded and followed him down to Minerva's office. They spent the rest of the day jumping through the many hoops involved with authorising a familiar to be within the school, followed by a second pile of paperwork pertaining to the fact that Rosie was technically a XXX-Class magical beast. After that, they went down to Hagrid's, with Harry casting a wandless warming charm on Daphne, earning himself a kiss on the cheek that made her giggle as he stumbled dumbly into a snowbank.

Eventually they found themselves back in Harry's office, the door locked as curfew had come and passed and the rest of their friends had bid them goodnight. Harry had snuck Kyddris back into his office, which easily expanded to accommodate the thirteen-foot dragon. Rosie and Kyddris had immediately bonded fantastically, with Rosie enjoying the way he would spit tiny plumes of fire for her to try and snatch out of the air. Eventually, she had curled up on top of his head, making Daphne giggle as she was reminded of the night before. When she showed Harry the picture she had taken of Nightfire with Minerva's cat form sitting on his head, he too burst out into laughter. Eventually, they found themselves once more on the couch as they fell asleep.

Christmas Day started with loud banging on the door to Harry's office. Daphne grumbled as she yanked the door open angrily only to be greeted by her sister and Luna Lovegood.

"Hello," Luna greeted cheerily. She was garbed in a pair of pyjamas that depicted house elves playing ice hockey, and Daphne couldn't help but find them adorable as Luna's dreamy far-off demeanor was tinged with lingering bleariness, no doubt from being woken up by the energetic Slytherin girl dragging her by the wrist.

"I knew you would be here when I couldn't find you in the dorms!" Astoria exclaimed. "Spent the night with Professor Potter, did you?"

Daphne's face lit up, and she was about to descend upon her brat of a sister with righteous indignation when the little devil zipped by her and vaulted the back of the couch to land directly on Harry's chest.

"Professor Potter!" Tori shouted. "Just what do you think you're doing spending nights with my sister?"

"Good morning to you too, Tori," Harry mumbled. "So, you're finally admitting that you and Daphne are related?"

Tori's jaw dropped and she suddenly pouted and crossed her arms. "How did you know?"

"Your sister is my best friend," Harry deadpanned. "It didn't take much to figure out who you were based on how you act around each other. Plus, besides the hair colour, you both look almost identical."

"Hello, Harry," Luna said, drifting in to the room casually. Daphne suddenly whipped her head back and forth as she realised that Kyddris had been here last night, but was relieved when Harry shifted, showing her a glimpse of a silvery-grey tattoo on his waist when his shirt rode up as he yanked both girls down on top of him and started tickling them mercilessly, filling his office with shrieking laughter and waking Zephyr and Hedwig, who both made sure to swat Harry with their wings when they flew over to give the girls affectionate nips.

Daphne couldn't help but smile as she watched Tori and Luna cuddle up to Harry as the couch they were on expanded into a bed. It was only five in the morning, and both girls had started to yawn and fall back asleep as Harry's magic reacted to his good mood and filled the room with a warm presence that made Daphne feel secure and comfortable as she joined the group cuddling session, wrapping her arms over her sister's back as she and Luna giggled and cuddled happily between her and Harry. As she fell asleep, Daphne couldn't help but wonder if her and Harry could one day wake up like this every morning.

All four of them slept until eight o'clock, when Tracey, Blaise, Neville, Susan, and Padma came strolling through the open door and woke them with their loud expressions of how cute they found the scene.

"Aw, look, they're already playing house!" Tracey preened teasingly. The others laughed while Harry and Daphne simply rolled their eyes, blatantly ignoring the elation that went both ways through their bond at the implication of living together.

"Have you all opened your presents already?" Harry asked.

"No, we were planning on bringing them here to open them with you guys," Neville informed him.

"You think Dobby can get a few of his friends to help bring everything here?" Blaise asked. His mother's plans had suddenly changed and she needed him to stay at Hogwarts over the break, much to Astoria's delight, as he decided to bring her with him to the ball so she could have fun with them as well. Unfortunately, that just made him even more appealing to the female population.

Harry shrugged and called for both Dobby and Tipsy. "Could you both see if there are any elves that would be willing to help you bring all of our gifts up here?"

Dobby and Tipsy bowed and vanished with a pop, while Daphne introduced Rosie to the rest of their friends. Tori and Blaise were somewhat leery about her, given the dangerous reputation of hellhounds, but all it took was one glowing, red set of puppy-dog eyes for them both to cave and started lavishing the newest addition to their rapidly-growing family with affection. Eventually, Dobby, Tipsy, and a handful of other elves –all of whom Harry thanked by name –had assembled all of the gifts between the seats in front of the fireplace, and they all sat down, more chairs appearing when they realised there wouldn't be enough room. Dobby and Tipsy were about to leave, as Harry had several letters for them and Hedwig to deliver and more clandestine business to handle, and he knew that little made the elves happier than helping him (even if he still felt guilty about asking them to work on Christmas), when Harry stopped them.

"I haven't given you two your gifts yet."

Both elves were frozen with shock, as Harry presented them with small, horribly wrapped boxes. Tipsy opened hers, and gasped, tears gathering in her eyes as she pulled out a small golden locket, inside of which were pictures of Harry's parents that he had found and shrunken down to fit. Meanwhile, Dobby broke down into loud sobs as he took out an ornate pin, bearing the Potter sigil with the words _Semper Fi_ written below. Harry kneeled down, and attached the pin to the jacket of the suit Tipsy had made to replace Dobby's old clothes before opening his arms and embracing the two of them.

"You are both family, and I will always see you as such. Thank you for everything you do."

At this point, Tipsy's shoulders were shaking with unrestrained emotion as she cried against the master she thought she would never see again. Her hopes had been answered that fateful night when the Ancient One had brought him back to her, half-dead both physically and mentally. Now he had risen higher than she could have ever hoped for. He was finally indulging in his desire to learn, absorbing everything he read and forming new opinions and theories. His power grew every day, and there didn't seem to be an end in sight to the heights he would reach. Most importantly, he had found himself a group of friends who were loyal and loved him unconditionally.

After the elves had left to handle their duties, the rest of them took turns opening their gifts. Harry grinned when he saw the multitude of books his friends had gotten him. From Sirius and Remus he had gotten two ornate, dragon skin sheathes, one holding the elegant sword Griphook and Ragnok had sent him. Everyone else in the room gasped when he read the note that came with the sword and learned that it too was made from goblin-made. According to the note, the work Griphook had been able to do using Harry's seat on the Wizengamot had helped the fight for goblin equality more than any one wizard had in the past. Ragnok said that being given a voice so that they may fight their own battles was the greatest gift the Goblin Nation had ever received, and as such, he had fashioned this new blade himself as a symbol of their friendship and alliance. Harry chuckled when, in the post script, Griphook had said that this blade could be used to fight without having to worry about killing himself or his friends with a simple nick, as Ragnok had used the various alliances to House Potter, as well any of Harry's friends that he had mentioned in his correspondence with the two goblins, and imbued specific blood samples into the blade. That way, against him and his allies, the sword would just be a heavy metal stick, incapable of cutting flesh or inflicting harm.

Daphne and the others all stared in awe as Harry drew the sword. Its blade was both longer and wider than that of Gryffindor's. It was made of gleaming silver along the edges, while the flat of the blade was made of some obsidian metal none of them had ever seen. The guard was in the design of a dragon's head, and had a diamond in its forehead, engraved with the rune Harry used to protect himself from the killing curse, though there seemed to be more branches and roots intertwining to form the circle around the trunk, while small brass wings spread out from its side. The hilt was made of a the same strange wood as Harry's wand, with all sorts of intricate runes that even Harry had difficulty deciphering –especially the ones that included goblin-runes –and the pommel was a smooth teardrop emerald that also matched Harry's wand. Testing the edge on his fingertip, Harry found that he couldn't get the metal to pierce his skin, regardless of how much force he applied to the wicked looking blade.

On the back of the letter were a simple set of instructions that told Harry to strike his new sword against the sword of Gryffindor in order to transfer the properties of one to the other as the smallest sliver of metal chipped off Gryffindor's blade and merged with Harry's. Happy with his gift, Harry placed the sword of Gryffindor in its sheathe and placed it on a small stand that appeared on his mantel piece, where it sat behind the picture of his parents, the basilisk fang, and the strange jewel he'd received from the dragon. He then secured his own blade to his waist and turned to his friends.

"How do I look?" He asked, fighting down the embarrassed heat in his face as they all scrutinized her.

"You look like a proper knight," Luna replied happily while Neville, Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise all stiffened momentarily.

Harry laughed and shook his head. Only Luna would think that a proper knight rode into battle dressed in his pyjamas. Removing the sheath from his waist, Harry reverently hung the blade on the wall behind his desk before turning back to his friends.

"Daphne, there was another gift I'd like to give you," he announced.

"Harry, this necklace is already perfect, you don't need to give me anything else." Tied around her neck with a gold chain was a necklace with a small sun charm. The sun was made of gold, and in its center was a perfectly circular sapphire. The jewel was inscribed with a bevy of runes that would help keep Daphne safe, and she was touched that Harry would go to the trouble of asking Griphook to send him books on manipulating metals with Transfiguration, just so he could make it himself.

Shaking his head, Harry smiled and pulled out his grimoire, placing his hand on the cover. "Daphne Greengrass, I, Harry James Potter, do bequeath unto you access to the grimoires Potter, Peverell, Gryffindor, and Slytherin. With this gift, I do grant you access to the knowledge collected by my family. As I will it, so mote it be." The grimoire hummed and glowed a soft blue as it keyed Daphne into its defences and Harry placed it in her hands. "With this, you now have access to every text within the Potter, Peverell, Gryffindor, and Slytherin collection," Harry explained. "The only ones you won't be granted access to are texts on family magic –which only I or my blood relations could perform –and business or legal documents you haven't been given permission to view. I do ask that you only use it here, but seeing as you're always welcome in my office, I doubt that'll be a problem."

Daphne flung her arms around Harry's neck and held him tight. "Thank you," she whispered.

Harry merely smiled and returned the embrace, grinning goofily when Daphne pressed a lingering kiss very near the corner of his mouth.

The rest of the day passed in a blur of smiles and laughter, until around four o'clock, when the older girls had to return to their dorms to get ready for the dance. Meanwhile the boys returned to Harry's office where Harry told them a little plan he had been thinking of for a while now. Both Neville and Blaise agreed without hesitation, willing to bear whatever people might say about them in the hopes of helping a friend.

After a few hours of playing Exploding Snap and chess, which Harry lost spectacularly to Neville, the boys separated to prepare themselves as well.

Harry dressed himself in a fine three-piece tuxedo. The jacket and slacks were black while his vest and bowtie were a vibrant emerald green. Over top of the tux was a silver and green robe that, personally, Harry found to be a bit too ostentatious. He met with the other champions in the Entrance Hall and smiled as he greeted the others.

"Looking good, Harry," Cedric said with a grin as he shook Harry's hand.

"Thanks, same to you."

"Where ees your date?" Fleur asked. She was joined by Roger Davies, and Harry could see that she wasn't entirely happy with her choice in date.

"She'll be here," Harry replied just as everyone turned to see Hermione, of all people, coming down the stairs to join Viktor, who bowed low and planted a soft kiss on the back of her hand.

"Hello Harry," Hermione said awkwardly as she and Viktor joined the conversation.

"Hermione," Harry replied. "You look nice."

"Thank you. So do you."

The underlying tension between the two of them was palpable, and Harry was saved by the entrance of the one person he was waiting for. Daphne rounded the corner from the dungeons dressed in a stunning wine-red gown that flowed along her curves like a crimson waterfall. The straps reached up and around her neck, leaving her back and arms exposed, and Harry felt Fleur walk over and manually shut his mouth with a giggle.

Snapping back into action, Harry rushed forward and took Daphne's hand, kissing it softly before bringing her into a soft hug.

"You look stunning, Sunshine," Harry murmured into her lightly curled hair. Daphne blushed and hugged Harry tighter for a moment before separating as the doors opened and Minerva stepped out.

"Oh, good, you're all here." She went on to instruct them on how they would be making their entrance before joining the headmasters for dinner. Harry and Daphne stood at the end of their little procession, ignoring Hermione's glances in their direction as Harry leaned down and whispered the plan he had come up with in her ear. Daphne smiled and readily agreed, ensuring Harry that she would let the other girls know as well. They nearly missed their cue from Minerva as they were already absorbed in conversation with each other. Ignoring the many stares and whispers Harry kept his head up and eyes forward only to frown as he smelled a familiar unwelcome presence.

"What is it?" Daphne asked as he stiffened.

"I'll let you know during the dance," Harry mumbled as they joined the others at the table with the headmasters and heads of house. Harry pretended to not notice Percy inviting him to take a seat next to him, and pulled out a seat for Daphne right next to Fleur while he wound up next to Madame Maxime. Dumbledore showed how to order their meals, and Harry spent the next forty-five minutes doing his best to be polite and friendly without divulging anything. Luckily, Daphne, Minerva, Severus, and Fleur were on his side and helped to deflect conversation whenever someone attempted to question Harry about his studies or personal life.

Mercifully, he was saved by the announcement of the champions leading the opening dance. Taking Daphne's hand in his, Harry led her onto the dancefloor, ignoring the stares of the other students as he focused on dancing with his best friend.

"So, what was it you noticed on our way in?" Daphne asked quietly, smiling as Harry stroked his thumb along her exposed spine.

"I think I might have figured out how Skeeter is getting her information," Harry replied. "I smelled her when we first stepped into the Great Hall. Underneath all that horrid perfume, she smells similar Minerva and Sirius."

"You think she's an Animagus?"

Harry nodded and leaned down while pulling her close. "If she is, then we can use this. Get the attention off of me for once." They continued to dance in silence and bowed to each other when it came to an end.

"I'm surprised Wildcat," Daphne said with a smirk as they returned to each other's arms. "Not a single toe crushed. I was preparing myself for having to dip my feet in a bucket of ice by the end of tonight."

"What can I say?" Harry replied with a lopsided grin. "I'm a quick study."

"And who was the teacher?"

"You'll see eventually. I promised her a dance."

"Guess I'll just have to wait and see," Daphne replied with a grin. "This song's almost over. Ready to make even more of a splash?"

"Absolutely."

As the song ended, Harry and Daphne looked around for their friends and spied Neville and Luna, who had gone as his date so that they could all be there. Crossing the dance floor, Harry grinned as Neville met his eye and saw an expression of mischief that Harry had never before seen on his normally-reserved friend's face.

"Hey Neville, Luna, enjoying the dance?" Harry said.

"Oh, hello Harry," Luna replied happily, wrapping Harry in a soft hug. "Yes, we are. It was very kind of Neville to invite me. Judging by the Flutterflies surrounding the two of you, you must be having a good time as well."

"I am," Harry replied. "It's nice to spend time with all of my friends. Speaking of which, Neville, wanna dance?"

Those in the immediate vicinity who had been eavesdropping, as Harry had predicted they would, gasped and froze as Neville agreed and the two of them walked onto the dance floor. More and more stares were sent their way as Daphne and Luna joined them in dancing together. Harry chuckled as Padma, Blaise, and Astoria joined in, and grinned when the song ended and Blaise took his place dancing with Neville while he turned to find Tracey standing behind him while Astoria danced with Susan.

"What are you doing?" Tracey hissed as Harry led her in the next dance.

"I'm just dancing with all of my friends," Harry explained simply. "And if in the mingling of partners, two of my friends wanted to dance with each other, but were afraid of coming here together, then no one would think anything of it after seeing me dance with Neville and Blaise while my date dances with you, Susan, and Padma."

Tracey's eyes became glassy as the intent behind his shenanigans set in, and she leaned in a bit closer to hide her face from the others. "Dammit, Potter," she whispered. "You just always have to be the center of attention, don't you?"

"Most of the time I don't really have a choice," Harry replied with a grin. "Might as well turn my curse into a gift for once."

The dance ended and Harry smiled as he watched Tracey go over and ask Susan for a dance. Susan's eyes lit up as she nodded excitedly and followed Tracey onto the dance floor. Casting his gaze around the dance floor, Harry smirked and walked towards the head of the room where Minerva was watching the dancing with a soft smile on her face.

"May I have this dance?" Harry asked, bowing low.

Minerva grinned and took Harry's hand, drawing even more stares as they twirled around the dance floor.

"You must be determined to dance with everybody you aren't supposed to tonight, aren't you?" Minerva asked teasingly.

Harry grinned and laughed softly. "Well, I was thinking of inviting Madame Maxime next. Though, I think I'd let her lead on that one. Besides, this way, everyone will be so focused on me, that they won't notice anything else going on tonight."

"It astounds me that you are still this kind after everything you've been through," Minerva whispered. "I couldn't begin to tell you how proud I am of being able to know you."

Harry smiled, his face heating slightly. "I think I was too… sheltered during my childhood to really get a grasp on holding grudges. After everything I've been through, I sort of came to a resolution that I could either be angry that other people were happier than me, or use what I've learned to make sure they don't have to go through what I did."

"That's very wise," Minerva replied. "Thank you, by the way, for your gift. The stories you wrote are… creative to say the least."

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the expression on her face. Harry had given her a hand written book filled with short stories and poems of his own making, and could tell she was struggling to figure out how to not offend him.

"I'm glad you like them. Though, admittedly, they're not supposed to be wonders of literature."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"Minerva," Harry whispered, the grin on his face just shy of giddy. "Those stories and poems are how I encrypt my research. I wanted to include you in what I've learned this past year. Severus got one too." Minerva nearly stumbled as the significance of what Harry had shared with her set in. "You two are among the smartest people I have ever met, and I'd like to hear your thoughts on my research into how magic works."

"Harry, I would be honoured to review your notes," Minerva whispered, struggling not to choke on her emotions. "I will make sure to use extreme discretion when decoding what you've discovered."

"That's good to hear," Harry replied. "There's also an encoded book list at the back for all the texts I used to further my understanding into muggle sciences. They've been particularly helpful –especially when it comes to Transfiguration, Potions, and certain charms."

"Excuse me, Professor, do you think I could dance with Harry?" Harry looked around and saw Hermione standing nervously as she waited for his answer. Nodding to Minerva, Harry bowed to her, then Hermione, before being surprised when she dragged him outside.

"This is surprising," Harry noted. "I didn't think you would willingly come near me anymore."

"Harry, can't we just put all this behind us?" Hermione asked. "I miss my best friend. I'm sure Ron does too. Can't we just go back to the way things used to be?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Harry countered. "Hermione, I'm happier now than I've ever been in the past."

"So, you're really determined to just abandon us, then?" Harry sighed as Ron came stomping out of the Great Hall to stand by Hermione's side. "Just leave us for that fancy professor position and a bunch of snakes?"

"At least they trust me," Harry fired back.

"Not asking questions isn't the same as trusting, Harry," Hermione implored.

"Nor is spying," Harry deadpanned. "Look, I have a dance to get to, and after that a tournament to prepare for, so I'll see you two in class."

Harry turned around and marched back to the Great Hall, where Daphne met him at the doors.

"Come on," she said, grabbing him by the hand and leading him away. They were silent as she led him up the stairs towards his office. When she opened the door, the office had rearranged itself to be much cozier, with the roaring fireplace providing the only light. Without a word, Daphne wrapped her hands around Harry's wrists and guided them to her waist before looping her arms around his neck. He smiled as she rested her head against his shoulder and started swaying them back and forth. To their pleasant surprise, though, soft, heartfelt music suddenly filled the air, and they both turned to see Fawkes sitting on a perch with Hedwig and Zephyr, while Kyddris and Rosie slept curled up together underneath. The remainder of Christmas Day was spent with them in each other's arms, and as the night wore on, they both wound up falling asleep the same way they woke up that morning.


	16. Chapter 16

The second term started with little fanfare. Daphne still spent most of her time with Harry in his office, reading up on hellhounds, so as to provide the best care for her newly found familiar. Harry, as usual, poured himself into his training and research when he wasn't attending to his various duties. He was profoundly grateful for Griphook and Firenze accepting the positions as his proxies on the Wizengamot, as they, along with Sirius and Remus, dealt with much of the work outside of Hogwarts, leaving Harry with only having to read a weekly update and reply with his opinions and thoughts. The rest of their friends had taken to using his office as a sort of inter-house common room, where they could do their homework, relax, and just be themselves in peace.

Of course, not everything was perfect. Rita Skeeter had managed to publish an article about the Ball that had, among other things, outed Hagrid as a half-giant, forcing him to take a leave of absence while Wilhelmina took over his class, as well as implied that Daphne was using Harry to increase her social standing. Tracey had been incensed after having read the slanderous article, burning the newspaper to ash in a bout of accidental magic (which was shocking considering –with the exception of Harry –most wizards and witches stop performing accidental magic after they had received their wand). It had taken Daphne and Susan well over an hour to calm her down, eventually only the distraction of the looming second task was enough to distract her.

Surprisingly, Fleur had been the one to help them figure out just what would be taken from Harry. She had come to visit them one day after dinner, and burst into tears speaking in rapid-fire French. Harry seemed to be the only one who could understand her, and Daphne could feel his barely restrained anger through their bond as he comforted Fleur. It wasn't until she had finally calmed down that Harry explained that it wasn't an object that would be taken from the champions, but the _person_ most important to them. Fleur had been distraught because she knew her little sister would be the one taken, and those with veela blood in their veins had extreme aversions to water, as veela were primarily beings of fire. Harry had immediately promised her that if he brought Daphne back and Fleur's little sister hadn't returned within the constraints of the task he would immediately dive back in to help Fleur rescue her. Daphne had blushed at the casual way Harry referred to her as his most precious person, and once Fleur had calmed down and returned to her carriage, she had wrapped Harry up in a soft embrace, whispering in his ear that his feelings were mutual. After that, Harry had substituted his afternoon training for swimming in the Black Lake, using both the Bubble Head Charm and some of the large supply of gillyweed he had purchased to explore as much of murky waters as possible as well as practice with the transformative effects of the plant.

It was during one of those sessions that Daphne had decided to finally tell Professor Snape about her strange encounter with Professor Trelawney.

"It would seem, Miss Greengrass, that you have borne witness to the true reason Sybill Trelawney was granted the position of Divination Professor," Severus informed her.

"You mean, that really was another prophecy?" Daphne asked.

"It would seem so."

"So, what do we do?"

"For now, nothing," Severus said with a sigh. "If we assume that this prophecy is alluding to the one Harry made last year, then we haven't really learned anything of value."

"But it said the King of Black has returned," Daphne implored. "If that's… _him_ , shouldn't we tell somebody?"

"Who would we tell that wouldn't already know that this was an inevitability?" Severus asked. "Dumbledore has been preparing for this since the day Harry vanquished him the first time, and while I will inform the Lady Bones, she and I both know that the Ministry will do everything in its power to deny our claims. Even Harry is aware that the time will come where he will have to face the Dark Lord once more. The best we could hope for by trying to spread word of his return is panic, and the worst is turning even more people against Harry."

Daphne sighed in defeat and slumped in her chair. "Fine. But what about the whole Queen of White, Lady of Black, Heart of Knight, bit?"

"Well, if the ball was anything to go by, I believe we can easily identify the Heart of the Knight," Severus replied, a rare twinkle of mirth flashing in his dark eyes. Daphne blushed, and forced herself to remain impassive. "As for the Queen of White and Lady of Black, I will have to look into it."

"Alright," Daphne conceded. "Thanks for talking with me, Professor."

"I always have time for my snakes," Severus replied as she stood up and made her way to the Great Hall for dinner. She ignored the stares from her fellow Slytherins as she walked determinedly towards the Hufflepuff table, where Harry was sitting with Fleur, Cedric, Tracey, and Susan. Harry grinned as she sat down next to him, and she offered him a light smile of her own before filling her plate.

"How was your appointment with Professor Snape?" Harry asked.

"Alright," Daphne replied, shutting down the guilt that tied her intestines in knots. The worst part of being bonded with the boy she considered her closest friend (and hopefully more) was that he could easily see through the impassive mask she put up to hide her thoughts from everyone else. It didn't take much effort to close the connection between them using her mental shields, but even then, she and Harry had spent so much time together that he could read her like a book. It would have been one thing if he used their connection to try and gleam what it was she was thinking about, however, he was insufferably considerate, never prying and allowing her to come to him. This just meant that she had no outlet for the self-hatred that came with knowing that he was aware she was keeping secrets from him, and yet he still didn't think any worse of her for it.

"Hey," Harry whispered, covertly putting a hand on her thigh and giving it a comforting squeeze. "You're allowed to have your secrets. You don't push me, I don't push you. So long as you know that you can come to me, and that you are talking about whatever it is with _someone_ , I don't need to know."

Daphne smiled and reached down to give his hand a squeeze of her own. "I have no idea how the Sorting Hat ever thought you'd do well in Slytherin. You're unbearably noble."

"Hold on, the Sorting Hat was going to put you in Slytherin?" Cedric asked, his eyes wide.

"Trust me, we reacted the same way," Tracey said with a roll of her eyes. "But then again, if all those letters you send and your occasional brainstorming sessions with the Weasley Twins are anything to go by, you've probably got at least an ounce of cunning."

"Don't forget that it would take _some_ ambition to become the youngest student to take a position that hasn't been seen in over three hundred years, and schedule his OWLs to be taken a year in advance," Susan added.

"You plan on taking your OWLs early?" Hannah Abbott asked.

Harry nodded. "Headmaster Dippet had them when he was granted the position. I learned that once I have my OWLs, assuming I do well enough, I'll be able to be considered a volunteer member of the staff."

"What does zat entail?" Fleur inquired.

"Well, I won't have an actual class to teach," Harry explained. "But I will get to pick which classes I assist in and design my own schedule, so long as I have classes with every year. I obviously don't get paid, but that's fine by me. Also, the Headmaster technically isn't the one in charge of my position at the school. Hogwarts herself chose me to be a Professor's Apprentice, which pretty much means the school itself wants me to teach here. Which is good, considering what Daphne's told me about the Ministry putting feelers out concerning their influence here. Lastly, I'm expected to act as a sort of middle ground between the staff and students."

"Kind of like a prefect?" Susan asked.

"Sort of. I have all the authority of a professor, which includes duties like patrolling the halls and such, but I'm supposed to be the person that students from every house would feel comfortable coming to for help, especially the younger years. Which is mostly why I was taken out of Gryffindor, so I could come across as unbiased."

Cedric raised an impressed eyebrow. "Do you think you'll apply for a real teaching position here after you've gotten your NEWTs?"

Harry shrugged. "Maybe. I really enjoy helping the other students out, but I'm not sure if I want to commit to one single subject. If, after I get my NEWTs, I can sort of keep my position the way it is, then definitely, but that's still a ways away, so I tend not to give it too much thought."

"You said you would 'ave to attend classes of all years," Fleur said. "Does zat include those zat are older zan you?"

"Yeah," Harry replied. "I'm a little nervous about that, but Professor Flitwick has offered to let me sit in on some of his seventh year classes while they work on the Patronus Charm, since it's something I can actually help with."

"You'd probably be fine," Tracey reassured him. "Pretty much the only difference between you and some of the upper years is one of you is better with magic and the other is a few years older."

Chuckles went around the table and Daphne smiled as the slight tension in Harry's shoulders evaporated. "Tracey's right," Daphne said. "You have an understanding of the fundamentals that I've never seen before. The only thing you'll have to worry about is the few spells that you may not know yet."

"Well, I look forward to seeing you in my charms class, Harry," Cedric said. "If Professor Flitwick invited you to help out, then he must think you have something to teach us."

"Thanks, Cedric," Harry replied happily.

*(OoO)*

January gave way to February faster than any of them could have expected. Harry was still, technically, not permitted to go into Hogsmeade, so Daphne decided to spend Valentine's Day with him. The fact that they would still be spending the entire day alone together was not lost on her –especially considering there had been a full moon the night before. Sirius and Remus had managed to join them, as did Minerva, and once Moony and Nightfire had properly tired themselves out, had taken to teasing her mercilessly.

Before anyone knew it, the second task had reared its ugly head. Daphne had already been nearly shaking with nerves by the time Professor Snape had come to fetch her. She had spent the day with Harry, neither of them really doing anything other than sitting curled up on the couch in his office. Intellectually, she knew that he would have no problem finding her. In addition to his bond with her, he had cast everything from tracking to passive warming and drying charms. The sheer amount of his magic hung around her like a security blanket as she followed Professor Snape towards the Hospital Wing.

"Don't worry," Snape murmured. "It's just a simple sleeping and stasis charm. You won't even feel a thing."

While Daphne was still uncomfortable with the idea of being put into a magically induced coma and hidden underwater, she knew, deep down, that she didn't have a choice in the matter. Even if she tried to run, there were several Ministry officials that probably would have gladly stunned her before she made it more than two steps. So, sighing with defeat, she laid herself down on the hospital bed with Harry's name scratched into the headboard and used the stereotypical Slytherin distrust of everyone but Professor Snape to her advantage, seeing as in a room filled with Ministry officials and headmasters, that sentiment rang true. Within minutes, Severus had waved his wand over her and she could already feel the darkness encroaching around her.

When she finally awoke, it was with the same shock she associated with being thrown _into_ the lake, as opposed to rescued from it. She was just barely treading water as a heavy weight pulled her below, and she looked down to see that there was a rope tied around her waist connected to two others. She spotted Harry underneath them, fighting off waves of merpeople, and screamed his name. Seeing that at least one of them had awoken, Harry swam up and wrapped his arms around her waist, the gills on his neck preventing him from surfacing until he managed to tap his wand to them, forcing the transformation to an end. They had agreed to have him only consume small amounts of gillyweed for the duration of the task, as that would prevent him from being stuck underwater, as well as allowing him to use some simple (for him, at least) Transfiguration to turn back on whim.

"I need you to hold Fleur and her sister tight," Harry said as his head broke the surface. "I'm about to do something potentially really stupid and I need you three as close to me as possible in case it doesn't work."

Daphne didn't argue and nodded, yanking the rope around her waist to bring the two veela closer to her. Once the younger of the two surfaced, she started to panic until Harry explained to her in hurried French what was going on. Fleur's sister nodded resolutely as she helped Daphne hold the unconscious Beauxbatons champion between the two while Harry dived back under and faced the horde of angry merpeople. Closing her eyes, Daphne felt the water around her shift and change. Opening her eyes, she looked around in confusion. The lake's trademark murkiness vanished as a circle of pure, crystal-clear water surrounded them before a surge of magic passed through her as bright flashes of white-blue light illuminated the water. Harry swam up quickly leaving the twitching merpeople floating, stunned, behind him to grab them, and together they swam back to the strange floating platforms where he hauled them up into the waiting arms of Professors McGonagall and Snape. Looking around, she noticed that none of the other champions seemed to have resurfaced yet, and grinned as Harry had managed to come first _and_ rescue more people than he was supposed to.

Her elation quickly turned into dismay when she noticed the three bleeding holes in Harry's thigh and the serrated knife sticking out of the back of his shoulder. She watched as Harry pulled out the blade with a grunt and set to work healing himself while Madam Pomfrey made her way over from where she was standing with Dumbledore on the platform the farthest from them. Daphne, Pomfrey, and McGonagall all huffed when Harry waved them off, stating that the still unconscious Fleur was more urgent.

To his credit, Harry had managed to stem the bleeding in his leg already. He waved his wand over his wounds and muttered spells for effect, but Daphne could feel that it was a ruse as he simply used intent-based magic to will his injuries closed. About twenty minutes later, the one hour time limit came and passed, with Cedric surfacing with a Cho Chang a few minutes after, and a massive shark head bursting out of the waves before transforming into Viktor Krum not far behind as he easily dragged a shivering Granger towards the platforms.

Daphne was incensed as the crowd went wild for them, while Harry, who had not only accomplished the task within the time limit, but saved two other people as well, had a reception that had been tepid at best. Her anger rose as Ludo Bagman's voice echoed through the air to declare the placement of the champions. Harry had already lost points in the first task from 'excessive violence and allowing himself to be distracted from his true goal' and she was itching to hear how he was about to be screwed over.

"The placements are as follows!" Bagman cried, seemingly unaware that the voice amplification charm he was using would make him audible even if he were whispering. "Cedric Diggory will be taking first place as he heads into the third task, quickly followed by Viktor Krum in second! While Harry Potter was the only champion to finish within the allotted time limit, his disregard for the dangers of using lightning-based spells while submerged in water, as well as his unsportsmanlike conduct have dropped him down to third, while Fleur Delacour will be relegated to fourth, as she was unable to complete her task! Thank you, one and all, for coming out today! The third task has been moved ahead to the twenty-first of April! I hope to see you all there!"

*(OoO)*

"I have never heard such absolute… _poppycock_ in my entire life!" Minerva shouted as they gathered in Harry's office. Fleur and her sister, Gabrielle, had joined them after Madam Pomfrey had cleared them, and both were equally incensed.

"I never thought Professor McGonagall would utter anything so foul in the presence of students," Harry muttered from his seat in front of Madam Pomfrey as she picked the broken shards of the knife out of his back. Its serrated teeth were designed to break off in the wound, and Madam Pomfrey was not happy that Dumbledore had allowed such methods to be used against students.

Daphne fought down the snort of laughter and frowned at him. "Why aren't you angrier about this?" She asked.

Harry shrugged, wincing as he jarred his wound. "They told us that the placements were originally designed so that they could tell who would enter the final task first. Since they've decided to add a fourth one, we're all going into the third task together, and the time bonus will be applied to the last one. The fact that I'm being punished for helping people isn't really a new concept to me."

"And you don't care about them slandering you like that?" Blaise asked curiously.

"I'm not happy about it," Harry replied. "But so far they've only been attacking my character, which I can handle. Plus, if I were to explain how I managed to remove the risk of electrocuting Daphne, Fleur, and Gabrielle, I'd be in a lot more trouble."

"Harry's right," Remus said. "The Ministry heavily regulates all magical research. If Harry revealed the extent of his research, especially considering how game-changing it is, odds are that all of his notes would be seized and he'd be thrown into Azkaban."

"Why would they do that?" Neville asked.

"Most magical governments do it," Sirius explained. "They control all forms of magical research, either by being the ones funding it, employing the researchers themselves, or demanding access to all documents pertaining to an individual's research. This way, they can manage what new discoveries are made, and maintain control over the wizarding population."

"Not to mention that very few wizards or witches ever consider conducting their own research," Madam Pomfrey added. "Most are content with simply accepting magic at face value, rather than seeking to understand it. It's magic, what more do you need to know?"

"My aunt complains constantly about the complacency in Wizarding Britain," Susan informed them. "She says that the reason Dark Lords pop up all the time is because, among other things, powerful men and women will pursue knowledge regardless of whether the government allows them to or not, and as they delve deeper into the Dark Arts, they decide to take the stagnation of our culture into their own hands."

"There is some truth to that statement," Minerva said. "Many of the greatest advances in the various branches of magic happened during one conflict or another."

"Add freedom of information to the list of things to do," Harry mumbled to himself, though Daphne seemed to be the only one to really notice. "Either way," he continued addressing the rest of them. "I can handle the public turning against me. It's dealing with people like Dumbledore, and Mrs. Weasley, who have both expressed their _concern_ and _disappointment_ regarding my behaviour, that really annoy me."

"At least you can see their manipulations for what they are," Snape offered. "Even if they can't. In the meantime, it would be prudent to simply return to acting as if nothing is amiss. Some of the students are starting to question the rumors regarding you, and as long as you continue to be yourself and offer your help when it's needed, you will, at least, have the protection of Hogwarts behind you. We can address whether any of our individual or collective plans for after the term has finished have changed at a later date, once things have calmed back down."

"There is one thing we should address," Remus said grimly. "What do we plan on doing about the fact that the twenty-first of April is a full moon?"

*(OoO)*

It was eventually agreed upon that Sirius would buy the materials to brew Harry some Wolfsbane from an apothecary near Potter Manor, so as to keep anybody from tracking his purchases. Meanwhile, Harry returned to his normal schedule, ignoring the stares from the increasingly growing number of students who seemed to think he was the next Dark Lord. So far, only a select few of the younger years who regularly got help from him during his after-dinner sessions had maintained their beliefs that he wasn't a monster in the making. Surprisingly, many of them were Slytherins, as the entire house thought that the notion of him being a future Dark Lord was stupid, and simply detested him for every other reason. Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise had taken to being Professor Snape's eyes and ears around these younger students, as they tended to be a bit too vocal in their support of Harry, and often wound up needing to be rescued from either Malfoy and his gang, or the older Slytherins, many of whom Daphne knew for a fact were on their way to being Death Eaters as soon as they graduated.

It was stressful having the one place in the castle they were supposed to be safe filled with people who would like to do all sorts of foul things to them. Sure, Daphne had been pretty aware of where most of Slytherin House stood concerning political ideologies before she had befriended Harry, but back then, she had already cultivated her Ice Queen persona to effectively protect herself and Tracey while Blaise simply embraced the rumors concerning his mother to stave off anything more threatening than simple segregation. After the ball, though, even the most politically oblivious student in Hogwarts was well aware of who they had sided with. Harry had even go so far as to address the issue during one of his study sessions. While he normally made a point of not talking about anything personal with anyone who stopped by his office, he had been concerned enough to tell the younger students, particularly those in Slytherin, that, while he appreciated their support, they needed to fully understand what they were doing by standing up to their peers in his defence.

Astoria had been the first to state that she didn't care if she had to stand against Dumbledore himself, she would support Harry. Together, a group of about fifty students from first, second, and third year had pledged their loyalty to Harry, which Daphne could tell had moved him far more than he let on as he instructed them to try and never be caught alone with older students, and to immediately come to him, Professor Snape, or Professor McGonagall if they wound up in a situation concerning him. Professor McGonagall, in particular, was proud to see students from different houses stand together in defense of the one who had done nothing but help them all year.

"So, I have a question," Daphne said one day after Harry had dismissed the younger years.

"I might have an answer," Harry replied from his seat at his desk, where he was writing another in the unending series of letters he seemed to send and receive with the various people he knew outside of Hogwarts.

"How _did_ you get rid of the risk of electrocuting me, Fleur, and her sister in the lake?"

"Oh, that," Harry replied. "Electricity doesn't really travel through pure water all that easily. It's the other things in it that make it conductive. I'd been working on a spell for a while now to purify water, just in case, you know? It separated all the other things out of the water around us so that I could zap the merpeople without worry."

"That's astounding," Daphne praised.

Harry shrugged and sealed the letter, walking over to where Hedwig was sitting by the window. "Just some basic science, is all."

"Maybe, but no one else ever thought to use it in order to completely change the way they use their magic. I've seen you accomplish some pretty incredible things using simple spells because you've taught yourself how to look at things a different way."

"Enough about me," Harry said, throwing himself over the top of the couch she was laying on and causing Daphne to shriek in laughter as he landed on her, making a show of getting himself comfortable. "A little birdy told me that you got some interesting news from your mother."

Daphne giggled and wrapped her arms around Harry's neck. "Only with you do I actually have to wonder if a literal bird told you that."

"Don't worry, my animal spy network hasn't found a way to infiltrate Greengrass Manor just yet," Harry reassured her with a crooked grin. "This particular birdy happened to be a precocious Slytherin second year with a penchant for getting herself in trouble."

"Only because she knows you'll come and save her," Daphne groaned embarrassingly. "You would think Tori would at least _know_ what subtlety was, concerning she got sorted into the same house as me. The way she acts, she would fit in better with Gryffindor or Hufflepuff."

"And yet, her brash attitude and friendly demeanor has garnered her friends in all the houses and her vocal support of me has made sure that the students who would try and get to you through her can't lay a finger on her without being suspect number one and risking the next Dark Lord's wrath."

Daphne stared at him slack-jawed and wide-eyed as she contemplated what Harry had just told her. "Merlin's balls!" She murmured. "Tori's an evil genius!"

"Runs in the family, Sunshine," Harry replied with a grin. "Now, are you gonna tell me what news your mum told you?"

"Oh, right," Daphne said, still reeling from the idea that her sister could secretly be one of the most cunning people she knew. "Mother has told us that we're going to be spending the summer out of the country. Which means it'll probably be an entire year without having to see Cyrus at all."

"I can't imagine he's been very happy with the way things have been going recently," Harry murmured.

"On the contrary," Daphne replied. "He's been in a fairly good mood since before Christmas. The only thing that has apparently made him upset was the news that we attended the ball together, but Mother convinced him that I'm manipulating you, so that should keep us off his radar for a while longer. His good mood is actually why Mother's scheduled this trip and being so secretive about where we're going. She's worried something big has happened."

"That's probably a good idea," Harry said. "I know that I wouldn't mind using this summer to just relax and not have to think about anything."

"Please," Daphne scoffed. "With your track record? Even if you made it to a beach, you'd either go stir crazy within an hour, or wind up stumbling into yet another nefarious plot."

"Maybe, but at least I'd be on a beach," Harry countered. "But, with Sirius taking me for a month of solid training rather than our usual two weeks, plus my OWLs, and being old enough to finally remove Dumbledore from my family's seats on the Wizengamot, I'm barely going to have enough time to sit down after this bloody tournament is over."

"Just make sure you do find some time for yourself," Daphne said quietly. "I don't want to see you burn out."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine," Harry reassured her.

"Yeah, but as long as you're not dead, you'd tell everyone you were fine," Daphne muttered petulantly. "I want you better than fine."

"As long as I've got you by my side, I'm always better than fine," Harry replied causing Daphne to snort in laughter. "What?" He demanded, frowning in confusion.

"That was _so_ cheesy!" Daphne giggled. "It sounds like something you'd read in a muggle romance novel!"

"You would know, considering what Tori's told me about how much you love those dramas on the Wizarding Wireless," Harry countered, breaking down into laughter when Daphne's gleeful expression morphed into one of horror before settling on mock fury.

"Oh, I am going to _kill_ her!" Daphne shrieked.

Harry laughed and pulled her back down as she shot to her feet, causing her to stumble into his arms. Eventually, they calmed down, and, as was becoming more and more frequent, fell asleep in each other's arms to the sound of his crackling fireplace.


	17. Chapter 17

Harry sat nervously in Professor Flitwick's seventh year charms class. He only half-listened as Flitwick went over the basics of the Patronus Charm, ignoring the looks some of the seventh years were giving him. He was missing his first year Transfiguration class for this, and as he looked at the glares on many of the seventh years' faces, he found himself desperately wishing he could be helping Minerva instead. The class was small enough to accommodate all four houses, as many NEWT-level courses did, and therefore Harry had to deal with every reason for the student body to hate him yet in one room. The only person who seemed pleased to see him was Cedric, which at least went far enough to make the other Hufflepuffs ignore him until Professor Flitwick called him to the front of the class.

"Now, thanks to Professor Potter here so graciously volunteering his time, I have quite the treat for you all," Flitwick announced enthusiastically before turning to Harry. "Professor Potter, if you could please demonstrate your Patronus Charm?"

Harry grinned and nodded, ignoring the shocked looks on everyone's faces and closing his eyes as he focused on the warm feeling that always filled him when he was with Daphne. Summoning his magic, he held up his wand and murmured the incantation.

Gasps filled the classroom as a glowing silver wyvern burst forth out of Harry's wand. It flew around the room, searching for danger before landing next to Harry.

"This, class, is a Corporeal Patronus," Flitwick explained. "Not only does it require a greater amount of magic to summon, but a particularly positive memory as well. Now, wands out, we will begin practicing while Professor Potter and I circulate to help where we can."

By the time Harry returned to Minerva's class, many of the seventh years had grudgingly come to respect him –or, at least respect the fact that he knew what he was doing –and were actually asking him for his opinions on other spells they were having trouble with. Harry was somewhat surprised that the highest levels of magic being taught at Hogwarts wasn't as complex as he had expected from his studies as he didn't have too much trouble exchanging ideas with the other students, even when they asked him about spells he had never performed before.

"It's not terribly surprising," Minerva said when he shared his thoughts with her while they waited for the fourth year class. The second and third year classes had passed faster than usual, especially when Minerva demonstrated her Animagus form to the latter, garnering much applause. "The NEWT-standard has always been under Ministry control, and are simply the indicators used during job applications. When I attended Hogwarts, it was much harder to achieve your NEWTs, and most only went for them if they were interested in either expanding their knowledge of particular subjects, or applying for careers requiring more advanced knowledge of magic. Nowadays, though, most advanced learning in the different branches of magic takes place post-graduation from Hogwarts, and is usually closely monitored. The auror training academy, for example, took only eight months when I applied. They mostly covered various battle tactics and protocol for different situations. We were expected to know virtually all of the necessary spellwork, among other things, before even enrolling. Albeit, back then, it was more common for students to seek out an apprenticeship for a few years with someone in the trade which they hoped to enter. Nowadays, the academy takes at least three full years, and considering the drop in applicants since the end of the last war, it leaves the Department of Magical Law Enforcement woefully understaffed and underqualified."

"But, why does that stop the professors from teaching more advanced subject matter?" Harry asked.

"Because, our curriculums have to be reviewed by both the Headmaster, and the Board of Governors," Minerva explained. "And considering the Board is simply an extension of the Ministry, with the exception of Griphook and Firenze, they have steadily put pressure on us to stretch out education to only teach the necessary concepts to pass OWLs and NEWTs. Most professors do add more to their curriculums, but there is only so much we can teach without off-setting the higher years."

"Is that why we spend so long on certain aspects for the younger years?"

"In a sense. For example, I begin with turning matchsticks into needles, because it gives the first years an introduction to transfiguring small inanimate objects. However, when Professor Dumbledore taught this class, there was a much greater focus on the theory behind it, rather than simply proceeding to steadily more complex Transfiguration. That is part of why I assign so much homework, because I hope to encourage the students to research more."

"It sounds like you're taking advantage of intent-based magic to teach students," Harry surmised.

"Partly," Minerva replied. "Pressure has been put on us to use intent-based theory while focusing on wand work and incantations. It isn't until sixth year in most classes that students begin to learn silent spellcasting. That being said, there are always exceptions. Every new group of first years will undoubtedly have a handful of students who are genuinely curious and will do the proper research required to master what we teach them. Those are generally the ones that can be expected to do great things once they've left Hogwarts."

Harry was left with quite a bit to think about as the fourth years finally showed up. He pulled out his grimoire and began to read as Minerva lectured them on transfiguring ravens into writing desks, something he had snickered about to himself as he made a note to send her a copy of _Alice in Wonderland._

There was a tense atmosphere in the class, but Harry and Minerva ignored it as they answered questions. Mercifully, it wasn't a double period, so Harry was soon able to duck out and join Dobby and the other elves for lunch in the kitchens. As usual, the elves shared stories about their days and the various bits of gossip they heard around the school as well as from other elves who worked elsewhere. Harry had been surprised to hear that so much of the house elf population was in contact with one another, as apparently they all belonged to a massive workforce that served most magical institutions. This did make Harry frown at the possible security concern, but Dobby reassured him that the house elves were unable to take any action against wizards within the different institutions, as they were all technically their masters. That didn't stop the elves from being notorious gossips, and from sharing what they learned with Harry, whom they all considered a friend as word of his reputation spread among them. After lunch and triple Herbology, Harry returned to his office, where Daphne was waiting for him, and invited her in to study while he trained. The third task was looming ever closer, and the champions had just been shown the hedge maze they would be navigating for it. They had already figured out that the Blast-Ended Skrewts Hagrid had been making the fourth years help raise would be at least one of the obstacles within the maze, and after his lunch with Dobby, he had found out another.

"They're putting a sphinx in the maze," Harry declared as he panted from the workout the practice dummies had just given him.

"Well, it was nice knowing you," Daphne teased.

"Very funny," Harry deadpanned as he hurled his sweaty shirt at her face, making her squeal in disgust as he stood up and made his way into the change room that had suddenly appeared. When he returned, he dropped down on the couch next to her with a sigh. "The Ravenclaw riddles are one thing, but answering a sphinx correctly won't be easy."

"Especially considering the fact that anything you say to it after being told the riddle will be considered a wrong answer and it'll attack," Daphne added holding up a book that Harry's office had provided her.

"Too bad there's no spell, or something, to temporarily make me a genius," Harry groaned.

Daphne yelped as the office seemingly listened to his plea as a discoloured old tiara seemed to appear out of nowhere and drop on her lap. Both she and Harry leapt to their feet as Kyddris and Rosie, who had been laying curled up at the foot of the couch, both began growling at the object while Zephyr appeared on Harry's shoulder.

 _Young One,_ Zephyr said carefully, _whatever you do, do not place that… abomination… upon your head._

"What is it?" Harry asked, relaying Zephyr's warning to Daphne.

"It looks like a crown, or something," Daphne asked as she levitated it with her wand. The tiara seemed to be made of clear, worn gemstones inlaid in dull gold that took the shape of a bird while a large blue gemstone sat in the middle. Squinting her eyes, Daphne leaned closer to read the faded words carved along the bottom. "Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure. That sounds familiar."

"That's because it's the Ravenclaw motto," Harry replied. Unease filled him as he stared at the crown. The flickering light from his fireplace made its glittering beauty give off a sinister aura. "Some student must have made it and hid it here. Judging by what we were talking about, it probably makes whoever wears it incredibly smart. But there's something… off about it. Like there's something else inside of it, something… _wrong."_ His mind made up, Harry called for Tipsy to come and look at the tiara while sending Dobby to fetch Minerva and Severus.

Once they were all assembled, Harry explained what was going on, and Minerva gasped while Tipsy took her time to analyze the tiara with the help of Severus.

"Harry, if I'm not mistaken, that is the Lost Diadem of Ravenclaw. Rowena Ravenclaw herself was said to have created it to grant the wearer enhanced wisdom and intelligence."

"Considering the amount of extremely Dark Magic protecting it," Severus said quietly. "If one were to wear it, all they would experience was an agonising death."

"Master Harry, there is something else about this artifact you should know," Tipsy added hesitantly. "I do not know how, but there is a dark presence within the diadem, similar to the one the Ancient One helped me to remove from your scar."

"That settles it then," Harry declared summoning the sword Ragnok had crafted for him. "I'll handle the sphinx on my own. There's no way this thing is staying in the school. Or anywhere else for that matter." Without another word, he stabbed the blade into the gemstone in the middle of the diadem, where it sliced clean through and split the diadem in half. A dark, blood-like substance oozed from the broken halves while a harsh wailing scream rent the air, forcing them all to cover their ears as Kyddris and Zephyr obliterated what was left of it with a mixture of fire and lightning. When the piercing shrieks finally faded into silence, all that was left of the diadem were a few melted shards of metal and large, charred circle on the ground. Minerva vanished the remains with a flick of her wand and looked at the other stunned faces around her.

"Perhaps, it would be better if we keep this to ourselves. It would do no good for word of a founder's lost artifact being found only for it to be _perverted_ and left for students to stumble upon."

"Especially if it is connected to Harry's scar," Severus added. "Tipsy, would you mind providing with me the memory of when you helped Harry? Dumbledore had made mention of the Dark Lord imparting some of his power to Harry when the Killing Curse backfired, but he never elaborated past that. I would like to properly study that connection."

Tipsy nodded and disappeared along with Dobby while the rest of them departed for dinner.

*(OoO)*

The next month was spent with Harry and Daphne preparing for the third task with the help of his other friends. Harry having already completed the finishing touches in his Unforgiveable Defence Rune, had begun work on a Rune that would allow him to remotely communicate with Daphne and the others while he was in the maze. That way, with the help of a simple tracking charm, one of them could take his Firebolt high above the maze and help him navigate under the cover of his Invisibility Cloak. Eventually, he figured it out, just in time for the third task. That day, Harry took Daphne aside after classes had finished, and pulled her into his office. Once inside, he reached inside his desk and pulled out a small, delicately wrapped box, handing it to her.

"Harry, you really shouldn't have," Daphne whispered as she tore off the wrapping and opened the box. Inside were a pair of simple earrings that matched the necklace he had given her for Christmas.

"You didn't think that I would let the fact that the third task is today distract me from giving you your birthday present, did you?" Harry asked quietly. "Tracey would have killed me, otherwise. But, before you berate me for being all sentimental, you should know that they have the necessary runes to put you in contact with me. All you have to do is tap them with your wand and say, _Wildcat_ , to be able to hear everything I hear, and speak to me."

Daphne was speechless as she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. "You had better not die in there," she whispered.

Harry chuckled and held her close. When the clock eventually chimed, telling them it was time to go, they only pulled far enough away for Harry to plant a soft kiss on her lips. There was a casual affection to it as he pulled away a moment later, grinning that _stupid_ grin of his.

"I'll see you later," he whispered, and Daphne was still stunned when he reluctantly let her go and hurried out of the room.

He hadn't done more than give her a light peck on the lips, and yet she was rooted to the spot as tingles spread through her from head to toe. It wasn't until the far off _bang_ of a cannon signified the beginning of the third task reminded her of what she was supposed to be doing that she managed to start moving again. Hurrying around the office, Daphne grabbed the cloak and broomstick, throwing open the balcony that had magically appeared as she secured the cloak over herself and mounted the Firebolt. Harry had given them each practice with his Firebolt, so they would be able to control it, but that didn't stop Daphne from holding it tight and screaming curses in Harry's name as she rocketed towards the Quidditch pitch in a matter of moments. Coming to a halt about two-hundred feet above the maze, Daphne cast a quick Disillusion Charm (another spell Harry had taught them) to supplement the Invisibility Cloak, and activated the tracking charm, spotting the bright green light that only she could see just as Harry managed to stumble out of a cloud of strange golden mist, right into a dead end occupied by several Blast-Ended Skrewts.

Tapping her earrings, Daphne scowled as Harry stumbled back through the mist with the Skrewts right on his tail. "I'm going to kill you for that," she said angrily.

 _"Get in line,_ " Harry panted as he threw a series of lightning bolts at the hybrids chasing him down.

"You just stole my first kiss!" Daphne nearly shrieked. "I have half a mind to let you stumble through here on your own!"

" _It was barely a peck!"_ Harry shouted back as levitated one of the Skrewts and threw it at another before zapping them both with a powerful bolt of lightning. Both creatures convulsed violently before laying still as smoke rose from their charred forms. _"Plus, do you really expect me to apologise when I can_ feel _how happy you are?"_

"Shut up! A girl's first kiss is supposed to be romantic! Not some random peck, like your saying goodbye before leaving for work! Turn left here, by the way."

 _"Since when did you care about all that?"_ Harry asked as he rounded another corner.

"Since my prat of a best friend robbed me a storybook moment to tell our grandkids!" Daphne shrieked, causing Harry to trip and stumble as her own eyes widened and heat filled her face.

 _"Sorry, I think I might have misheard you there,"_ Harry mumbled awkwardly. _"Could you repeat that?"_

"I meant that we're obviously gonna still be friends when we're old," Daphne said hurriedly. "And when your grandkids and my grandkids, who will inevitably close, ask me about my first kiss, all I'll be able to say was that my best friend was a prat and robbed me of any form of storybook moment to share with them."

 _"Oh,"_ Harry replied as if he had just had an incredibly complex concept explained to him. _"That actually sounds like a better story, if you ask me."_

Daphne rolled her eyes and breathed a quiet sigh of relief. Their conversation turned towards her simply giving him instructions as he fought his way through all sorts of obstacles. He barely slowed down as what Daphne assumed to be a boggart stepped out of the bushes in the form of… _her?_ The illusory version of her was joined by Severus, Minerva, Sirius, and many of Harry's other friends, and opened her mouth to speak, but never got the chance as she felt Harry steel himself and hurl a powerful stream of blue-white fire that somehow froze the boggart solid before he transfigured the ice into a small metal box. Continuing on his way, Harry's magic arced and slashed through the air as he tore through the various creatures and traps. The only time he halted was when he happened to find himself right behind Cedric. He had shouted Cedric's name to get him to turn around and immediately stunned him before Cedric's disarming charm had even covered half the distance between them. He raised his wand into the air and fired off a stream of red sparks, and once Daphne confirmed that the extraction team was headed in to get Cedric, he took off again at a dead sprint. All of the exercise he did throughout the year seemed to pay off as he quickly made his way towards the center of the maze where a platform waited that would raise the champions over the maze so they could return to the starting point.

*(OoO)*

Eventually, Harry rounded one of the final corners of the maze and found himself face to face with not one, but _two_ sphinxes. The two massive beasts spoke in the same cadence as the Weasley twins, and Harry gulped as they laid out their rules to him before giving him _two_ riddles.

 _"First think of a person who lives in disguise,_

 _Who lives secrets and tells naught but lies."_

 _"I am small as an ant and big as a whale,_

 _I can soar through the air like a bird with a tail."_

 _"Next, tell me what's always the last thing to mend,_

 _The middle of iddle and end of the end?"_

 _"I can be seen by day and not by night,_

 _I vanish when faced with a flash of light."_

 _"And finally give me the sound often heard,_

 _During the search for a hard-to-find word."_

 _"I follow everyone, everything under the sun,_

 _But the stars twinkling above force me to run."_

For their last line, the two creatures spoke simultaneously, sending shivers down Harry's spine as they observed him with their great almond-shaped eyes.

 _"Now string them together and answer us this,_

 _Which creature would you be unwilling to kiss?"_

 _"There's no way to possibly answer them!"_ Daphne cried. _"If you answer one, the other will attack. What kind of monsters would set this up?!"_

Taking a deep breath, Harry glared at both the sphinxes, the full moon making the primal part of him howl in delight as he readied himself. Turning around, Harry started to walk away, holding his hands in front of him as he covertly summoned his sword. Casting a quick charm on the sword to levitate it, Harry spun around and sent the blade rocketing towards one of the sphinxes while Kyddris burst into being and charged the other. Daphne shouted his name over their connection, but he forced himself to concentrate as the sphinx not currently wrestling with a one-and-a-half ton dragon swatted his sword aside and sprang towards him. Smirking as he ran towards the leaping sphinx, he ducked under it just as it pounced towards him, summoning the sword back to him as he plunged it into the belly of the animal. The sphinx shrieked in pain and collapsed on top of him, making Harry grunt as its weight threatened to crush him while he desperately fought off the transformation that threatened to take hold, despite the Wolfsbane in his system. The potion gave him more control over his instincts, but the temptation to give in was still there, and he knew if he did, he wouldn't be able to turn back until tomorrow.

Not sparing the fallen sphinx another look, Kyddris left his prey to return to Harry's skin as they sprinted around the final bend. The acromantula and dementor waiting for him were stood no match against him as he felt a strange new magic bubbling up through him. Heat began to build inside of him until Harry felt like there was magma flowing through his veins. In the back of his head, he heard Kyddris yelling at him to let go, and with a scream of pain, Harry _pushed_ his magic outward and watched as a shockwave of brilliant fire exploded out of him, incinerating both creatures as well as much of the hedges surrounding him while he ran towards the platform and threw himself on it as a second acromantula crawled out of the shadows.

 _"I've no idea what you just did,"_ Daphne muttered in his ear. _"But it was apparently rather impressive as all of the judges look like you just killed another dragon with your bare hands."_

"Do you think they saw Kyddris?" Harry panted.

 _"No, the magical feeds were only focused on you. They just thought you threw some strange spell at one of them while killing the other with your sword."_

"Good." Harry's breath rattled in his chest as he limped down the enchanted path overtop of the maze back towards the stands. He watched as Fleur stunned Krum before running towards what he could see to be a dead end, and fired the sparks into the air so that someone would go and pick up the Durmstrang champion. Cheers erupted from the crowd as he stumbled off the path only to be caught by a grinning Cedric.

"That was pretty noble of you to shout my name before stunning me like that," Cedric said with a laugh.

"Just wanted you to know it was me who got the drop on you," Harry replied teasingly.

"Yeah, well that won't happen next time."

"I look forward to it."

The spectators from Hogwarts seemed fairly divided on the fact that Harry had not only come out first _again_ , but taken their champion out of the task. Luckily, Astoria led many of the younger years in cheering wildly for him while Cedric clapped him on the back with a smile, prompting some of the older students to join in as well. Eventually, the final placements for the last task were announced, with Harry in first, Fleur and Cedric tied for second and Krum in third. Harry found himself once again wondering how the judges awarded the placements, but shrugged it off as the last task was announced for the twenty-fourth.

Massive crowds of students tried to get him to join in the celebrations, but Minerva and Poppy had managed to save him by ordering him to get some rest after the amount of magic they had seen him throwing around. He met Daphne in his office, where she had to hold him up as exhaustion finally set in and she half-dragged him towards the shower. When he finally stumbled out of the bathroom, his office had been replaced with just his bedroom, and he allowed Daphne to lead him into the bed, where she curled up next to him, pulling his arms over her so that he could sleep peacefully with his Sunshine in his arms, the heat from the light peck she left on the corner of his mouth lulling him into the realm of dreams.


	18. Chapter 18

April turned to May with little fanfare. Students started to spend more time outside as the weather became more agreeable, but the frequent, unpredictable rainstorms forced them back inside just as often. Harry had spent most of the weekend after the third task sleeping, as he had used some pretty powerful spells to deal with the stronger of the creatures he had encountered within the maze. Once he had surfaced again and gotten back to his duties, it seemed as if the desire to grill him on the events of the maze had died down. That didn't stop most of the younger students from regarding Harry with a certain amount of awe. She watched as Harry smiled and greeted the various students they passed in the hallways, and she could have sworn that they were starting to look at him the same way the rest of the Wizarding World looked at Dumbledore. The only difference between the two was that while Dumbledore was famous the world over for his many accomplishments, most of the students never really saw him perform more than the most basic of spells. In the past year, everyone had seen Harry accomplish the impossible time and again.

And yet, Daphne was pretty sure that Harry gave off a more approachable air than the Headmaster, as even nervous first years would come up to him just to greet him or ask for help on their homework. Dumbledore was rarely seen walking the halls in the first place, and when he was, few wanted to disturb him with issues that were most likely not worth his time, but Harry was almost always seen somewhere on the grounds, and made a point of telling students that he would be happy to help with whatever they approached him with.

"So, when are you gonna hurry up and stake your claim on him?" Tracey asked one day at dinner. They were seated, for once, at the Slytherin table, and Daphne had been watching Harry help a few first year Hufflepuffs with turning objects into birds, much to the amusement of many spectators.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on, you already told me that he kissed you, what are you waiting for?"

"Harry kissed you?" Blaise asked.

"It was just a peck," Daphne hissed, her cheeks burning. "Why do you two even care?"

"Because, despite the fact that he's an annoyingly good person most of the time," Tracey explained. "I've actually come to sort of like the bloke. Were it not for him, I wouldn't have gotten over myself and asked Susan out."

"You already told us about the imprint," Blaise added quietly. "It's clear your feelings are mutual, what's stopping you?"

"There's more to it than that," Daphne replied. "Harry's emotions are… complicated to say the least."

"Sure, he seems a tad repressed," Tracey conceded. "But who better to navigate that minefield than the one who can literally _feel_ what he's feeling?"

"What's a minefield?" Blaise asked.

"If you picked up a book once in a while, you might know," Tracey shot back. "Then again, if any of us were seen reading muggle literature, I'm pretty sure we'd have to take up residence in Harry's office lest our fellow Slytherins finally go through with offing us in our sleep."

Blaise smirked and narrowed his eyes at Daphne. "Daphne already has."

"Which brings us back to the topic of why you haven't taken that boy and properly explored a broom closet or two yet, Greengrass."

Daphne groaned and fought the urge to slam her head on the table. "If you must know, it's because of the imprint that I know how complicated Harry's feelings for me are."

"What do you mean?" Tracey asked.

"I mean that, while the imprint makes him attracted to me, his emotions are a bit more complicated," Daphne explained. "Our bond lets me know how he feels about me, and while there's definitely something… more… there, he can't differentiate it from the platonic feelings he has for the rest of the people close to him."

"So, you're saying that he fancies you, but can't tell that he fancies you?" Blaise surmised.

"Pretty much. Near as I can tell, he's never felt anything even remotely close to what he's starting to feel for me, and has no idea what it actually is. I thought that when he gave me that kiss it meant that he was starting to understand his feelings, but there hasn't been anything else since."

"And I thought us normal blokes were thick."

"What has to happen to kid to make them not understand their own emotions like that?" Tracey asked quietly.

"Nothing good," Daphne replied sadly. "Ever."

"You know what this means, right?" Blaise asked, a mischievous look on his face. "You're just gonna have to be the one to make the first move."

Tracey suddenly burst out laughing while Daphne frowned at her two oldest friends. "Oh, that's rich! The Ice Queen, who all boys fear to approach, has to go out and actively pursue the one boy who is already wrapped around her finger!"

"Could you possibly _be_ any louder?!" Daphne hissed angrily, reaching across the table to smack Tracey upside the head. "Besides, the last thing he needs is relationship drama when he's still stuck in this bloody tournament."

"Alright, that's fair," Blaise admitted. "But the tournament is over in just over a month, what'll you do then?"

"Nothing, because Harry is leaving with his godfather immediately after the final task on a month-long training excursion and when he gets back he'll be taking his OWLs."

"All I'm hearing is that means we have even more time to make you absolutely irresistible before you see him again," Tracey said menacingly. "I can't wait to see what it'll take for that legendary self-control of his to finally break."

"I'm pretty sure we wouldn't see Daphne for at least a week if that were the case," Blaise deadpanned, causing Daphne to choke on her drink. "All we need is to break through that thick skull of his."

Daphne was about to voice her distaste with the idea of seducing her best friend when she noticed Harry freeze in place as a tidal wave of rage surged through their bond nearly through her off her seat. Before she even knew it, she was on her feet and dragging him out of the Great Hall into a nearby classroom.

"Harry, talk to me," she whispered once they were alone. "What's going on?"

"I don't know," Harry replied, his voice already dropping into a bestial growl as he fought against the urge to change. Daphne could already see his teeth had elongated and his pupils had narrowed. "I just started to feel extremely angry."

Daphne closed her eyes and focused on the bond between their emotions. She nearly choked on the unstoppable rage coming from Harry. Steeling herself, she examined his feelings more closely and found something off about them. It was as if the anger Harry was feeling was not his own. Like something was forcing it out of him.

Tracey and Blaise opened the door, and Daphne opened her eyes to see how close Harry was to the breaking point as he looked up and roared angrily while pulling her close. Tracey yelped in fear as Harry slowly started to change while Blaise edged back towards the door.

"Get Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape," Daphne ordered. "I think he's been dosed with something."

Without another word, Tracey and Blaise slipped back out the door and Daphne turned her attention on Harry. "Harry, I need you to focus on me. Nothing else. Focus only on me."

"I don't… want to hurt you," Harry rumbled. "You should… run."

"You're not going to hurt me," Daphne reassured him quietly. "I know you, Wildcat, you'd never hurt me."

Harry snarled and pulled Daphne even closer to him, burying his face in her hair as he fought to maintain his rationality. Daphne reached up and put her hands on either side of Harry's face, resting her forehead against his own.

"I don't know what's happening," Harry growled.

"It's okay," Daphne whispered. "You're okay. Just take a deep breath and focus on me."

The growling steadily lowered in volume as Harry closed his eyes while Daphne thought of the emotions she felt when they were simply relaxing together and allowed them to flood through their bond in place of the manufactured anger Harry was giving off. Together they stood there in silence as Daphne poured everything she had into fighting off whatever was threatening to make Harry lose control. The only indication she had that the others had returned was Harry stiffening once more at the foreign presences, only for Daphne to reach up and gently sooth him with a hand through his hair.

"Harry, it's just Severus and Poppy," she whispered. "They're your friends, they want to help."

She wasn't sure if her words were getting through to him anymore, but her quiet soothing tone of voice was enough to make Harry relax slightly as Madam Pomfrey and Professor Snape performed several diagnostic spells.

"It seems as if he's been dosed with a particularly strong variant of the Draught of Rage," Madam Pomfrey concluded. "I can give him a Calming Draught to counteract the worst of the effects, but other than that, we just have to wait for the potion to leave his system."

Daphne nodded and accepted the potion, taking a swig from it to prove to Harry that there was nothing wrong with it before handing it to him. Dobby transported them back to Harry's office where he immediately broke off and headed for his room, stating he would like to simply sleep it off, leaving Daphne, Blaise, Tracey, Severus, and Poppy to discuss what had just happened.

"Did any of you happen to see who could have done it?" Severus asked.

All three of them shook their heads. "Harry was surrounded by first years the whole time, there was no chance somebody could have gotten close enough without being noticed," Daphne explained.

"Not to mention the Draught of Rage is a fourth-year potion," Tracey added.

"That proves little," Severus replied. "Harry, Granger, and Weasley successfully brewed Polyjuice Potion in their second year, and despite many of the younger years worshipping the ground he walks on, there are still many who believe what their housemates and families have to say about him."

"Maybe, but Harry's also too observant for an eleven year old to slip something in his drink without noticing," Poppy countered.

"What if they used a Switching Spell?" Blaise asked. "We've been learning that this year as well, and –with the exception of the Weasley twins –there's a demonstrable pattern of students using what they've most recently learned when playing pranks on each other."

"The Draught of Rage isn't something one uses in a prank," Severus replied harshly. "Were it not for the fact that no spell or potion seems to be able to dramatically affect Harry in regards to Daphne, there would have been a real possibility of Harry attacking someone, which –Nightfire aside –would be incredibly dangerous for everyone present considering his skills and magical power. Unfortunately, the list of suspects is simply too long even if we ruled out everyone from first through third years."

"Professor Snape is right," Tracey said. "With the exception of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, us, Neville, Padma, Susan, and Diggory, pretty much everyone could have a reason to hurt Harry. The list is just too long, even if it were restrained to just fourth years."

"But why would someone do this?" Poppy asked. "What is there to gain?"

"It could be that the growing number of supporters Harry has garnered over the year has someone frightened," Severus hypothesized. "Having him randomly start attacking the students who have become amongst the most loyal to him would be a great way to further isolate him as well as add credence to the slander the _Prophet_ has been spewing."

"Especially considering he's actually been getting some pretty good press after the third task," Blaise added. "Not that he's really aware. The only media outlet he'll read from is _The Quibbler._ "

"Why?" Tracey asked confusedly. "That rag is only full of nonsense and crackpot theories."

"I believe he promised to take out a subscription in order to cheer up Miss Lovegood after she wound up in the Hospital Wing a few weeks ago due to a reaction from the bite of a –what did she call it –Swirly-Toothed Boarbat that happened to look like a rather nasty series of Stinging Hexes to the back," Poppy replied sadly. "It breaks my heart that such a kind boy would still be the subject to so much torment, even now."

"Either way, I will inform Professor McGonagall of what has happened," Severus announced. "The three of you may want to keep a close eye on your fellow Slytherins, as this seems a tad too cruel to come from many of the others that have expressed their… distaste for Harry."

"Great, as if the looming threat of being attacked in our sleep weren't bad enough," Tracey grumbled as they made their way back to the dungeons later that night.

"At least you two have each other to watch your backs," Blaise groaned. "I'm in a dorm with Nott, Crabbe, Goyle, _and_ Malfoy. If it weren't for the fact that I got a whole ton of warding runes from Harry for Christmas, I'm pretty sure I would already be dead."

"There's a little over a month left," Daphne remarked. "We've made it this far, and, personally, I'm not about to go back on Harry anytime soon. So long as we can make it to the last task, then we'll be fine."

"You had better be right," Tracey said accusingly.

*(OoO)*

Luckily, the month leading up to the final task passed without incident, though, not for lack of trying. Harry seemed to be the primary target for whoever was harassing him, but he proved that few people got the drop on him once, let alone twice. Daphne had seen spells be hurled at him from the middle of thick crowds, only to fizzle out within a foot of Harry. When he wasn't teaching, Harry had secluded himself in his office, either training or researching something he said would be revolutionary, which made Daphne nervous, as his last revolutionary discovery had involved an explosion loud enough to be felt all the way in the dungeons, and Harry joining them at dinner covered in soot.

Mercifully, the day of the fourth task finally came, and all the students were packing themselves in a never-ending procession of carriages as they headed towards the arena that had been hastily constructed just outside Hogsmeade. The arena was shaped like a massive wooden fort. There were obstacles all over the place outside, with four winding towers spiraling around a central spire that was nearly as tall as Hogwarts itself. About two thirds of the way up, the four towers combined and opened up into two massive dueling arenas with staircases in the center of both that led to the remainder of the fort.

"Welcome, one and all," Ludo Bagman's overly enthusiastic voice shouted through the air. "To the fourth and final task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament! You've seen them duel dragons! You've seen them outwit mermaids! You've seen them navigate a maze filled with terrors no mortal man would face! Now, you will see our champions face their greatest challenge yet: each other!" Cheers erupted through the crowd and Daphne sighed in relief. If all of this was simply the staging area for a series of duels, then Harry would undoubtedly be fine. "The tower before you has been filled with obstacles of all kinds, similar to the maze the champions faced back in April. However, this time, there will be human opponents to face as well! These witches and wizards will do everything in their power to incapacitate the champions before they can make it to one of the two dueling arenas midway up the tower. There the champion will be given a reprieve as they wait for a second competitor to join them. Once there are two champions inside an arena, the two of them will duel for the right to advance. The winners will continue onward, while the losers will fight their way back to the ground level, where they will compete for third place. After the two duels are finished, the remaining two champions will ascend the final spire in a no holds barred race to the top, where they will be crowned the winner of the Tri-Wizard Tournament!"

With his explanation finished, Bagman seemed to revel in the crowd's enthusiasm, as if they were cheering for him and not the four teenagers he was about to send into a tower filled with fully-trained witches and wizards. They had positioned themselves closest to the entrance to the tower where Harry was waiting. Cedric and Fleur were standing at either side of the tower, which meant that Krum was standing on the other end.

 _"Wish me luck?"_ Harry asked over the communication runes he had given her.

"I'd be worried if luck was what you've been relying on to survive this thing," Daphne replied, causing their friends who were sitting around her to snicker.

"You had better win this, Cub, or I'm going to go even harder on you in training!" Daphne turned and grinned when she saw Sirius walking through the stands towards her. The stands around them were already fairly barren, as most of the crowd was more interested in the other three champions, but they were nearly emptied as soon as Sirius arrived, the only things keeping an all-out panic from arising being the presence of Amelia and Remus behind him.

"Aunt Amy!" Susan cried, shooting to her feet and wrapping Amelia in a hug. Daphne snickered at the fearful look on Tracey's face, laughing outright when Tracey slugged her in the shoulder angrily. Sirius and Remus took a seat behind Daphne on either side of Neville.

"Good to see you again, Professor Lupin," Neville greeted with a smile on his face.

"Neville, I'm not your professor anymore. You can just address me as Remus," Remus replied as the first cannon went off and Harry sprinted into the tower, only to dive to the side as a Bludgeoning Hex flew past his ear. "Sirius, this is Neville Longbottom, Alice and Frank's son."

"Y-you knew my parents?" Neville asked, the explosion from the counterattack Harry had mounted making him flinch while a second cannon indicated Cedric and Fleur were allowed to enter from the two sides of the tower.

Sirius nodded with a bittersweet smile on his face. "Frank and Alice were both very good friends of ours. They fought beside us in the last war. In fact, Harry's mother was your godmother."

Daphne filed away that piece of information as she watched Harry stun the large black man who had been chasing him and move forward into the tower, where a magical feed started. She watched as he generally tried to avoid getting into all out duels with the wizards and witches trying to ambush him. He would generally stop at every corner and close his eyes, taking deep breaths before sprinting around the corner and firing a series of minor hexes and jinxes with pinpoint accuracy to incapacitate his opponents long enough to bypass them.

"I can't decide if I should be impressed by Harry's performance, or ashamed at how poorly my own aurors are doing at stopping a fourteen year old using below OWL-level spells," Amelia groaned.

"At least this will give me something new to tease Nymphadora over when I see her," Sirius offered. "I wonder if Harry is aware of her trademark clumsiness, considering how often he keeps hitting her with that those different tripping jinxes."

"I'm curious as to how he keeps getting the upper hand on them," Remus countered. "It's like none of them are thinking to dodge or shield."

"That's because they aren't," Daphne explained as Harry paused at another corner and closed his eyes. "When he stops like that, he's extending his senses to pinpoint where they all are, then casting a widespread Confundus Charm. He's trying to conserve his strength for the duel."

Just then, Harry opened his eyes and seemed to look directly at the magical feed as he smirked crookedly and tapped his nose.

 _"You know me so well, Sunshine,"_ he muttered as he turned away and started sprinting towards the next corner. Before long, he eventually made his way out to the duel arena to the left of the central spire. His back was to them as he sat down on the ground and waited for his opponent, his wand waving idly through the air in boredom. It only took about five minutes for Krum to join him, but by then, Daphne could tell that Harry was almost completely recovered. The duel between the two was far less spectacular than the crowd had been hoping for as Harry dodged Krum's various spells, a few of which Amelia, Sirius, and Remus identified as being rather lethal had they hit their target.

Once again the crowd was shocked as Harry ran between Krum's spells before dropping down and sliding along the ground, kicking Krum's leg out from beneath him. The crowd booed as Harry used no magic at all to flip Krum onto the ground and knock him out with a swift kick to the temple before running back off into the last leg of the task.

On the other side of the tower, Cedric had just caught Fleur in a body-locking hex and was running up the tower.

 _"Hey, Cedric,"_ Harry panted over the communication runes. _"So, how do you want to do this?"_

"Harry just ran into Cedric," Daphne informed them as the magical feeds cut out and focused instead on Krum and Fleur as they eventually got up. "Their agreeing to climb the rest of the tower together and having one last friendly duel at the top."

"I guess you can take the boy out of Gryffindor, but not the Gryffindor out of the boy," Sirius replied.

They all listened on bated breath as Daphne relayed what Harry and Cedric were saying, while Bagman apologised for the malfunctioning feeds in the central spire. Eventually, Sirius led the way down to the ground level where they met Severus and Minerva as they waited for the champions to return.

"There about to enter the last room," Daphne informed them. She heard Harry shout as he was presumably thrown around by something.

 _"Cedric?"_ Harry called, confusion lacing his tone.

 _"I'm over here, Harry!"_ Cedric replied, though his voice sounded much further away than it had just seconds ago.

 _"What happened?"_ Harry asked cautiously.

 _"I'm not sure,"_ Cedric said. _"There must have been some sort of enchantment to put us on opposite ends of this room. Look, the cup is hanging up there in the air."_

 _"I guess that makes this as good a place as any to have our duel,"_ Harry concluded.

 _"I couldn't agree more,"_ A third voice joined in. It spoke with a high, cold tone that dripped with contempt and made shivers run down Daphne's spine. _"Avada Kedavra!"_

 _"CEDRIC!"_

Daphne screamed and dropped to her knees as she was forced to listen to the murder of Cedric Diggory.

"Daphne, what's wrong?" Tracey asked, concern shining in her eyes.

"Cedric… he-he's dead," Daphne croaked. "Someone killed him. They were waiting for Harry and Cedric at the top of the tower."

"What about Harry?" Sirius demanded.

Daphne shook her head as she fought back the shock from what she was listening too. "He's fine for now."

"This can't be good," Blaise muttered.

Severus and Minerva cast a series of privacy charms around them before asking Daphne for her earrings and casting a weak _Sonorous_ on them so the rest of them could listen in.

 _"Who are you?!"_ Harry demanded angrily. _"Why did you kill Cedric?!"_

 _"My, my, Harry, do you really not recognise me?"_ The voice asked, causing all of the adults present to pale.

"We need to end this now!" Sirius shouted. "Get him out of there!"

"Why?" Daphne asked, though deep down, she already knew the answer. "Who is it?"

"It's Voldemort," Remus replied shakily. "He's back."


	19. Chapter 19

"I must say, it truly is good to see you again, Harry," the man said from his position over Cedric's body. Harry narrowed his eyes as he stared into the face of the man who had been haunting his nightmares for the past three years. With skin whiter than the bone it was so tightly stretched across, wide, scarlet eyes that burned with hatred and contempt, and a nose that was flat as a snake's, the Dark Lord Voldemort glared across the fifty-foot arena separating them.

"I'm afraid the feeling isn't mutual," Harry replied, swallowing the anger that threatened to consume him. He knew he was facing down an enemy with only one known equal, but he couldn't force himself to be afraid of him if he wanted to. Instead, he focused on not allowing the anger he felt from witnessing the murder of his friend to consume him. If he was to have any hope of surviving this, let alone keeping the hundreds of people still below him safe, he needed to keep his head. "I would have thought that after beating you three times, you'd have learned your lesson, Tom."

" _Where did you learn that name?!"_ Voldemort hissed angrily.

"Don't you remember, Tom?" Harry asked. "You told me yourself before I killed that little snake of yours in the Chamber of Secrets."

Voldemort looked momentarily confused, and part of Harry relished in the idea of his enemy losing his mental faculties.

 _"Harry, stall for as long as you can!"_ Sirius shouted over the communication rune. _"We're trying to call an end to the event, but Bagman says it can't be stopped until someone grabs the cup! I believe in you, son, you've matured into a powerful warrior. Keep him off balance, and you'll be able to get that cup, no problem."_

"It seems I will need to have a word with my followers once I've killed you and announced my return," Voldemort said once he regained his composure.

"It's cute that you think that either of those things are gonna happen, Tom," Harry shot back, smirking at the way Voldemort twitched when referred to his birth name.

Voldemort tilted his head back and laughed, his high, cold voice draining the action of even the hint of malicious glee that might have otherwise been found therein.

"You're bumbling and reliance upon the sacrifices and failures of others ends tonight, Potter. A mere child, such as yourself poses no threat to me now that I have returned to my full power."

"No, but we're standing at the top of a tower filled with aurors, while Albus Dumbledore himself waits just outside. Even if you did kill me, how far do you really think you could get?" Harry asked as he and Voldemort started circling each other. They were inside a dome of pitch black rock, with only the glowing trophy overhead as their sole source of light causing Voldemort's dark robes to resemble billowing shadows around his willowy figure as they flapped in the wind stirred up by his oppressive magical presence.

"Killing you will only take a moment," Voldemort replied smoothly. "After that, I will have more than enough time to retreat to the shadows until I deem the time right. I already have control of most of the Ministry, no one will believe Dumbledore. They will look upon your corpse and see a boy who lost his mind and killed his comrade before losing himself to his grief."

"Careful Tommy," Harry warned, ignoring the rage Voldemort tried to call upon within him. "Cockiness like that is just begging for a swift kick in the arse."

That seemed to do the trick as Voldemort's cat-like pupils narrowed and his red eyes glowed with rage. "You _insolent_ boy!" He bellowed, lifting his wand high above his head as his barely controlled temper went wild. "I am the great Lord Voldemort! I alone have conquered death and returned to the mortal plane to take my place as the most powerful sorcerer in the world! You're petty insults are nothing but fearful jabbering in the face of your inevitable demise! _"_

 _"Harry,"_ Dumbledore's voice came over the runes and Harry grit his teeth. _"We cannot risk Voldemort attacking the students below. You need to keep him occupied long enough for us to evacuate them."_

Voldemort snarled as Harry sprinted out of the way of his curse, causing the sickly yellow bolt of light to slam into the wall harmlessly while Harry slashed his own wand through the air and sent a wave of icy blue fire towards his enemy, forcing Voldemort to retaliate with a brick wall conjured out of the ground. Harry never stopped running, using the wall to cover him closing the distance between the two of them as he fired a Reductor at the wall, blasting it to smithereens and transfiguring the detritus into multiple daggers made of milky-white gemstone that he sent flying towards Voldemort before they were easily deflected, falling to the ground around his skeletal feet, sinking blade-first down to the hilt while Harry conjured his own wall to duck behind in time to block a brownish-orange curse that made a section of the wall evaporate into smoke. Using the smoke as cover, Harry rolled along the ground and fired off another quick curse, transfiguring the smoke into a storm cloud that created a massive bear made of lightning. Voldemort easily dispelled the bear with a wave of his wand, causing it to explode in a shower of electricity, only to be thrown around as he bounced within a cage of lightning created by the daggers in the ground.

"I see Dumbledore taught you well, Potter!" Voldemort shouted after he had obliterated the ground beneath him, creating a deluge of earthen spears that he sent Harry's way.

Harry transfigured the spears into sand and superheated it into a wall of glass in time to block another curse. "Give up, Riddle!" Harry shouted, playing along with Voldemort's false assumptions. "I've learned things that you could never hope to understand!"

"False declarations won't scare me, Potter!" Voldemort countered, the light slapping of his bare feet on the stone floor as he slowly approached Harry's temporary barricade thumping in Harry's ears. "We both know that you are outmatched! Come out and face your death like a man! Show me the respect I command, and I will show mercy to the rabbles below!"

 _"Harry, you need to distract him long enough to summon the cup!"_ Severus shouted over the runes. _"With Cedric… gone, you are technically the winner and the anti-summoning wards around it have been removed."_

Growling under his breath, Harry took a deep breath and glanced down at Cedric's fallen body, which had been thrown around in the chaos and landed just to the left of where Harry was standing in the center of the dome. Steeling himself, he stepped out from behind his wall and glared into the eyes of his opponent.

"You don't command respect!" Harry taunted. "You demand attention!"

Voldemort scream of fury as he launched a Killing Curse at Harry quickly turned into one of pain as a block of ice exploded in front of him and some of the shards managed to slip through his quickly erected defence to slash across his face. Harry followed this up by destroying his wall of glass and hurling the shards at Voldemort, transfiguring them into a deluge of water at the last moment, just as Voldemort attempted another Killing Curse. The resulting freezing charm caused the wall of water to flash freeze around Voldemort, and Harry quickly transfigured it into diamond while unsheathing his second wand and discretely flinging a summoning charm at the trophy floating above them.

"Zephyr!" Harry shouted as he waved his wand, focusing his magic on changing the diamond prison at an atomic level. Just as Voldemort broke through the weakened gemstone, reducing to a cloud of dust, Zephyr appeared in a flash of lightning with a clap of lightning. Harry felt the same swell of power he had in the maze and allowed it to course through him as he and Zephyr poured as much power as they could into firing a monumental bolt of electricity that went right through the wall Voldemort tried to erect using the powdered gemstone. The resulting strike sent Voldemort flying into the far wall of the dome and gave Harry enough time to dive over Cedric's body and grab the fallen cup, grunting as the jerk behind his navel threw him on the ground where he was met with screams of fear. Struggling to turn around, he managed to look up towards the top of the tower just in time to see it explode and a shadowy blur fly away before exhaustion finally set in.

*(OoO)*

 _"That was quite the battle."_

 _Harry groaned as he opened his eyes and found himself back in the clearing with the familiar cloaked figure sitting next to him. "Thanks," he muttered hoisting himself up off his back and sat on his elbows. "Could've gone better, though."_

 _"You refer to the passing of your friend?" The figure asked._

 _"Among other things," Harry replied sadly. "I know there was nothing I could do –especially considering I was struggling just to last a few minutes against him –but that doesn't stop me from feeling guilty, you know?"_

 _"There is nothing wrong with mourning the loss of a friend," the figure said, its indescribable voice somehow soothing in its reassurance. "Allow yourself to feel these emotions. Do not try to explain them away, or control them through logic, lest you find yourself unable to let them go when the time has come."_

 _"As comforting as that is, it doesn't really stop me from feeling like utter shite," Harry muttered petulantly._

 _The figure laughed –or, at least, Harry thought that's what it did –and warmth filled his chest. "Perhaps. As for your thoughts on your performance, you and I both know that you could have done better, had defeating him been your true goal."_

 _"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "I was fighting as harder than I've ever fought before."_

 _"And yet, you were simply stalling for time. You taunted your enemy to throw him off balance, and fought with the intention to protect your life, and, failing that, those of your peers."_

 _"So if had really been trying to kill him, I could've won?"_

 _"I didn't say that," the figure responded calmly. "Nor did I say you lost to your opponent. You fought tooth and nail to protect not just those you hold dear, but any who were in danger of being caught up in this Dark Lord's wrath. You were willing to lay down your life in the name of your home, and that sort of resolve –the acceptance of one's fate in the face of death –it echoes through the forces surrounding us all. Your opponent will fall, in time, but it is imperative when fighting a war, to remember why you fight, lest you find yourself becoming the very enemy you seek to destroy."_

 _"I think I understand," Harry said after a quiet moment. "I've always fought harder when I had something to protect. I won't let my wish to see him gone take away the reason to fight in the first place."_

 _"Every time we see each other, I'm amazed by the wisdom of one as young as yourself," the figure said good-naturedly. "It is a bittersweet feeling, to see one so young with eyes so old."_

 _Harry nodded as thoughts of the time he had spent with Cedric played over in his mind and tears sprang up behind his eyes. He smiled humorlessly as the figure placed a ghostly hand around his shoulder and pulled him into a comforting embrace._

 _"Let the grief flow through you," the figure said, its voice changing to sound distinctly feminine, mirroring a voice Harry knew he should recognise. "Feel it. Accept it. And allow your friend to live on in your happier memories, rather than burying those good times in grief and guilt."_

 _Harry nodded and allowed himself to finally feel the loss of a man he had come to see as a good friend over the course of the last year. Every feeling he had supressed in the name of survival tore through his heart while the figure held him and rocked him soothingly. Eventually, the feelings began to pass. The pain remained, but it no longer threatened to be all-consuming, and Harry felt as if a great, constricting weight had been lifted from his chest, similar to something he had felt several months ago when his life at Hogwarts had changed so dramatically. Finally, in the cool arms of the loving figure, Harry allowed himself to succumb to a sleep that was deeper and more restful than any he had experienced before._


	20. Chapter 20

"I can't believe the things they're saying in this!" Tracey shouted as she hurled her copy of the _Daily Prophet_ into the fire place. " _The Boy Who Lied._ What absolute rubbish! He was barely coherent when he landed outside that bloody tower before collapsing from exhaustion, and no one has seen hide nor hair of him in over a month since!"

"I can't believe you're still surprised by this," Daphne deadpanned. "The smear campaign has been going on all year, now the Ministry is backing it, did you really expect it to get any better?"

Tracey groaned and dropped herself on the old, rickety couch Daphne had been sitting on, reading one of the many books found inside the musty old library where they were hiding out. Not long after the end of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Daphne's mother and Tracey's parents had informed them both that they would be taking up residence in a hiding place due to the return of Voldemort and their known association with Harry. As such, the Greengrass and Davis families were now hiding out in a dingy old manor by the name of Grimmauld Place. According to Daphne's mother, the house belonged to Sirius, and he had lent it to Dumbledore, among others, as a sort of safe house. Unfortunately, that meant that they were sharing the manor with the entirety of the Weasley clan as well as one Hermione Granger, all of whom –with the exception of the twins –regarded them with suspicion. Remus was the only one consistently on their side, constantly vouching for them, saying that Harry and Sirius had declared that they were all just as, if not more, welcome to take up refuge in Sirius' childhood home. Occasionally, Daphne could hear Severus coming to their defence as well, but considering the best relationship he had with any of the other members of Dumbledore's secret order was the cordial one he had eventually forged with Remus and Sirius, it didn't stand for much.

On the bright side, Tipsy was constantly there to help them out –going so far as to prepare them all separate meals after Ron had muttered one petulant remark too many and nearly made Astoria send him to an early grave. Both Tipsy and Kreacher, the surly house elf in charge of Grimmauld Place had taken to avoiding the others, especially after Hermione had adopted a one-woman crusade to see them freed from their apparent slavery. She constantly muttered about how she was going to have words with Harry for subjugating Tipsy to a life of servitude –which prompted Tipsy to be in a dreadful mood for the rest of the day whenever she overheard the perceived slights against the master she happily served. Penelope and the Weasley matriarch also seemed to constantly be at odds with regards to Harry, and how Mrs. Weasley considered him a child in need of protection. Tensions had been especially high lately, as well, as word of a dementor attack where Harry used to live had reached them, while their informants in the Ministry told them many high-ranking individuals had started calling for Harry to be tried for the unnecessary use of magic. All Remus would say that morning was that Harry had placed a handful of wards around the area where his relatives lived and had appeared to drive off the alleged dementors before disappearing once more.

"I have to say, Trace," Tracey's mother, Alannah, declared in a soft Irish accent. Unlike her daughter, who had a few more angles than curves, and had inherited her father's dark brown hair, she had a soft, heart-shaped face, framed by bright red hair with warm brown eyes. "When you told me you had made friends with some sort of celebrity two years ago, I didn't expect all of this."

"You'll find that Harry is unlike most celebrities," Penelope replied from her seat where she was braiding Astoria's hair. "Whether they be magical or not."

"I think you'll really like him though, Ms. Davis," Astoria piped up. "A lot of the stuff he does involves Muggle sciences. I bet he'd love to pick the brain of a real scientist!"

"Is that so?" Alannah asked. "That's rather ambitious of him. Edmund's told me a bit about the rather strict regulations your government has on research and the freedom of information. It would be interesting to speak with someone about how our two understandings of the universe coincide."

"Which is why we must be careful around whom we speak of it," Penelope said reproachfully, causing Tori to duck her head sheepishly. "Harry and the Lord Black may welcome us here, but they have yet to arrive and actually vouch for us. Until then, many of the others under this roof will continue to see us as spies and manipulators."

"Why is that?" Alannah asked.

"Harry found out that Dumbledore, whom most of the Wizarding World see as someone who can do no wrong, even in the face of the Ministry's current smear campaign, was subtly trying to manipulate him," Daphne explained. "As such, he's made the decision to forge his own path in life, leading him to take certain actions that those he used to think as his friends disapprove of."

"So we now find ourselves in the delightful place of not even being able to trust the good guys in a war against a megalomaniacal lunatic," Tracey finished. "Which is ironic when you think about it, considering Dumbledore's side is supposed to be fighting to bring an end to the prejudices that the enemy supports."

"This all sounds rather dangerous, Tracey," Alannah murmured in concern.

"That's because it is, Mum," Tracey replied. "But there's no escaping it, so the safest place to be is by Harry's side."

"Not to mention Susan isn't gonna take all of this lying down and she has you wrapped around her little finger," Astoria teased, giggling when a blushing Tracey hurled a pillow at her.

"When is Harry supposed to get here, anyways?" Tracey asked once she had calmed down.

"Remus said he was going to be meeting Harry and Sirius at the Ministry today. Apparently the attack the other day has required some big meeting of the Wizengamot," Daphne replied sourly.

"Aww, is someone upset because their favourite wildcat isn't going to be here for her to wish a happy birthday?" Tracey cooed mockingly.

"At least the person I fancy is gonna be here sometime," Daphne countered. "You still have to wait until the train ride back to Hogwarts to get any action."

"Tracey Euphemia Davis!" Alannah gasped in a scandalised tone. "I don't care how good of a person this Susan girl is, you are far too young to be doing that sort of thing!"

Both Daphne and Astoria burst out in laughter as Tracey's face glowed crimson while she tried to explain to her mother that her relationship with Susan was purely innocent.

The boisterous atmosphere was reigned in somewhat by the time Tipsy popped into the room to present the women with dinner and announce that they had visitors. All of them thanked Tipsy, and she bowed, opening the door before popping away as the Weasley twins entered the library.

"Well, would you look at that," Daphne observed sarcastically. "You two do have a sense of manners, rather than simply apparating wherever you please."

Both Fred and George laughed and raised their hands in surrender.

"Don't worry," Fred reassured her. "The most exquisite Lady Greengrass made sure that we learned our lesson."

"We know now where that sadistic streak of yours comes from," George added as Penelope harrumphed haughtily and returned to braiding Tori's hair.

"What can we do for you two boys?" Alannah asked kindly.

"Well, from a pair of redheads to another," George said conspiratorially.

"And the lovely ladies whose company she keeps," Fred added.

"We felt that you might like to know the result of the latest Order meeting."

"You got in?" Tracey asked.

"'Fraid not," Fred replied. "This is simply another Extendable Ear report."

"But blimey is it ever a doozy," George said with a whistle.

"You know, you wouldn't have to report your findings to us if we were allowed within ten feet of you lot while you're eavesdropping," Tori muttered petulantly.

"That's a matter to take up with our younger siblings, little Astoria," George replied.

"We can discuss everybody's unfair treatment of us later," Daphne said impatiently. "What is it that you've learned?"

"It would seem that Dumbledore has returned from the meeting at the Wizengamot," Fred reported. "And he's come back with some rather shocking news concerning our favourite green-eyed Junior Professor."

"He's not been arrested, has he?" Tori asked. "Because that sounds like a very real possibility considering Harry's luck."

"Don't worry, it was nothing of the sort," George reassured them. "Rather, according to Dumbledore, Harry, Sirius, and Remus burst into the Wizengamot meeting, and in a flurry of legal jargon, Harry very publicly ousted Dumbledore from his position as proxy holder of the Potter House's seats on the Wizengamot."

"On top of that, he appointed Remus as the new proxy, before apparently declaring himself the one behind Griphook and Firenze being placed on the Wizengamot," Fred added.

"I'm afraid I'm not following," Alannah admitted sheepishly. "It sounds as though he has done something dramatic, but I'm not aware of the implications."

"For the past few years, Harry's known that he was the lord of several very old, very powerful houses," Daphne explained. "Today he finally came forward and revealed himself as the one who had been shaking things up in the political sphere over the last two years."

"You mean to tell me that boy was the Lord Gryffindor _and_ the Lord Slytherin?" Penelope exclaimed. When Daphne replied only with a wide grin and a happy nod, she couldn't help but sit back in her seat and sigh dramatically. "You certainly know how to make some powerful friends, Sweetheart."

"I'm a Slytherin for a reason, Mother," Daphne replied cheekily. "Who better to help me ascend to greatness than someone who was already in the history books before he could even walk?"

"So that's it, is it?" They all turned to see Ron and Hermione standing behind Fred and George, one scowling while the other looked somewhat conflicted. "That's why you've been hanging around Harry so much? So you can steal a little bit of his glory?"

Daphne rolled her eyes and shared a mischievous look with Tracey. "Please, Weasley, you make it sound so much less... _magnanimous_ than it is," she replied salaciously, throwing in a well-timed flip of her hair for added effect.

"You don't mean to say," Hermione began.

"Come on, Granger, you didn't think he would be getting nothing out of being our friend, did you?" Tracey interrupted. "The boy's a born Slytherin, even if his demands are a little more –base –than what we would have expected."

At this point, both Fred and George were struggling to hold in their laughter as they watched the shock and outrage play over Ron and Hermione's faces.

"You're the reason he's changed so much!" Ron yelled accusingly. "Harry used to be my best friend! He'd never be seen anywhere near you filthy snakes! But now all that fame and glory's finally gotten to his head and you-you sluts seduced him into doing whatever you want!"

All humor in the air suddenly evaporated as even Hermione gasped at the crude accusation. Fred and George both looked like they were about to teach their little brother a lesson in respect, along with Tori, Penelope, and Alannah, but they all froze as an absolutely _crushing_ presence settled over the room, and a deep, rumbling growl filled the air.

Standing behind Ron and Hermione was a man with long, dark hair tied in a neat braid hanging down to his shoulders. He was a handful of inches shorter than Ron, but still easily taller than anyone else in the room, and his broad shoulders more than made up for the lack of height between the two. His wiry frame was garbed in an elegant suit underneath an equally expensive robe, and Daphne could still see how in shape he was, despite the corded muscles of his neck being the only exposed part of him as they flexed in barely restrained anger. Upon inspection of his face, Daphne gasped as she saw a pair of brilliant green eyes with cat-like pupils burning fiercely as they examined the two intruders before them.

"Leave. Now," he ordered, the power in his voice sending shivers down Daphne's spine as Ron and Hermione turned around fearfully, only for Fred and George to drag them out of the room before the hole Ron had dug for them could get any deeper.

"Harry?" Daphne asked cautiously.

In an instant the choking presence lifted from the room, and everyone but Daphne gasped in relief as the man turned to Daphne and smiled a familiar crooked grin. "Hey, Sunshine," Harry said softly.

Daphne grinned and threw herself at Harry as tears threatened to overwhelm her. "You-you prat!" She exclaimed heatedly, slapping her hand on his chest, unable to stop herself from noting how firm the muscle underneath seemed to be. "I'm forced to listen to you fight one of the most powerful Dark Wizards of all time, and then you just-just… vanish? Do you have any idea how scared I was?!"

"It's good to see you, Sunshine," Harry whispered as he tucked her head under his chin, the soft purring in his chest right next to her ear. "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too, Wildcat," Daphne murmured petulantly, embarrassment from her little outburst already warming her cheeks. "Where have you been?"

"After I finished my OWLs, Sirius and I went off for our month of training together. We only just got back in time for me to handle the dementors that had attacked Little Whinging and I've been stuck in bureaucratic hell at the Ministry since then," Harry replied before turning to the others. "Lady Greengrass, it's a pleasure to see you again."

"The feeling is mutual," Penelope replied as Harry took her hand and laid a soft kiss on the back of it before turning and doing the same to Alannah.

"And you must be Tracey's mother. It's an honour to meet you as well."

"The honour is all mine, Mister Potter," Alannah replied warmly. "Tracey has told me great things about you. Though she forgot to mention how… mature you seem compared to your peers."

"You're telling me that Lord Black only needed a month to turn the boy we saw in fourth year into _this_?" Tracey asked pointing rather dramatically up and down Harry's body, while Astoria, Alannah, and even Penelope stared in somewhat hungry agreement, causing Daphne to tighten her grip around Harry as she finally led him to the couch where she had been sitting.

"Technically, yeah," Harry replied, his voice noticeably deeper than it was the last time they spoke. Daphne shivered as he ran a hand up and down her arm and noticed that there seemed to be some sort of strange tingling where his fingertips brushed against her. It felt almost the same as when she was wearing one of the warding runes he had made for her, and she belatedly realised that Harry seemed to be idly channelling the smallest hint of his magic through his hands into her as her muscles immediately relaxed into his grip and she melted against him.

 _Get a hold of yourself girl!_ She berated herself angrily. _Morgana's tits! That is completely unfair! How am I supposed to be expected to focus on anything when I can_ feel _him inside me? Wait… no! Bad brain! Terrible brain! Don't think like that! Your own bloody_ mother _is sitting not ten feet from you! With your little sister to boot!_

"I see you're still as vague as ever," she said, hoping against hope that her voice sounded at least somewhat steady.

Harry seemed to be the only one not to notice as he smiled and winked at her before pulling her to her feet.

"Come on," he said. "We have dinner and a scolding to attend to."

*(OoO)*

The atmosphere in the dining room of Grimmauld Place was stifling. Harry sat at one end of the large table, across from Sirius, while Tracey and Daphne sat on either side of him. He looked around at the various expressions of anger, disappointment, distaste, and exasperation being levied at him from the many around the room.

"Thank you for dinner, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said politely, cutting through the silence, seemingly oblivious to the many adults watching him disapprovingly. "It's just as good as I remember."

That seemed to be the trigger for half of the occupants in the room to start admonishing Harry all at once. The only people on his side were Daphne, Tracey, their families, and Sirius –who looked much better than the last time Daphne had seen him.

"How could you do that, Harry?" Mrs. Weasley demanded. "Both you and Dumbledore are on shaky enough ground as it is."

"Molly's right," a large man that Harry recognised as one of the aurors he had taken down in the fourth task and had introduced himself as Kingsley Shacklebolt said. "You've just undermined much of the political capitol Dumbledore had to help us gain allies."

"Who's us?" Harry asked, nonplussed as he continued to slowly eat the stew Mrs. Weasley had made for them all. He was thankful for his Occlumency lessons with Severus, as the amount of glares he was getting

"The Order of the Phoenix," Sirius replied. "It was what those of us fighting under Dumbledore called ourselves."

"I see."

"Why didn't you tell any of us about your lordship?" Mr. Weasley asked.

" _Lordships_ ," Tracey corrected haughtily. "As in more than one."

"Thank you, Trace," Harry said. "How are you and Susan doing, by the way?"

"We're good," Tracey replied happily. "It's been torture not being able to owl her, but Tipsy's been kind enough to deliver our letters every once in a while."

"That's good to hear. I only had a moment or two to speak to Amelia at the Ministry. She was too busy flirting with Sirius after the announcement to really talk."

"Dearest godson," Sirius growled playfully. "It sounds to me as if you are making some rather crass implications regarding myself and the Lady Bones."

"Not at all," Harry replied with a smirk. "We already knew you were a mutt. It's expected that you would get distracted from time to time chasing tail." Sirius barked out a laugh while Fred and George collapsed into hearty guffaws as Tracey, Alannah, Daphne, and Astoria giggled. Unlike Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, Harry had gotten his friends into the meeting by simply stating that he would be relaying everything discussed to them anyway. Even Penelope looked momentarily amused before recomposing herself.

"This is cute and all," Moody growled. "But perhaps we should be getting back to business?"

"If you say so," Harry replied with a shrug. "So what's this order of yours been doing?"

"Absolutely not!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "The Order and its business are for adults only!"

Fred and George opened their mouths to argue, but Harry beat them to the punch by simply standing up.

"Alright," he said, simply, motioning to leave.

"Potter, where do you think you're going?" Kingsley rumbled coolly.

"To bed," Harry stated. "It's been a pretty long day, and I'd like a good night's sleep."

"But Harry, we're not done here," another of the aurors from the fourth task argued. Sirius had identified her as Nymphadora Tonks –Tonks for short –she was apparently the daughter of one of Sirius' cousins.

"Really?" Harry asked. "Because it seems to me that we are."

"Please, Harry, sit down," Dumbledore said as he stepped out of the fireplace in the back of the room. Silence fell over the dining room as he walked towards the table, frowning as he noticed that both Harry and Sirius were occupying the seats at either end. Thankfully, Tonks stood up and gave him her seat as she scurried around the table to cautiously take a seat next to Astoria, who glared balefully at her –and most of the other people in the room, for that matter. "There is still much to discuss."

"Is there?" Harry asked sardonically, noting idly that Dumbledore seemed to be avoiding looking him directly in the eye. "Because I was just told in no uncertain terms that the only thing worth discussing was classified to everyone but the members of your little club."

"I'm afraid so," Dumbledore replied sadly, disappointment weighing his tone. "My boy, your behaviour over the last couple of years has been most concerning, and I must say that I'm rather disappointed that you would keep such vital information as your position as the lords Gryffindor and Slytherin to yourself."

"Who said I only kept that information to myself," Harry replied smoothly. "Both Griphook and Firenze were aware of my status, seeing as they are both my proxies alongside Uncle Moony."

Kingsley slammed his hand on the table angrily as he glared at Harry. "Don't argue semantics, boy! Do you have any idea how much damage you could have done by keeping these things secret?"

Harry narrowed his eyes and willed his three signet rings into existence –making sure to keep the Peverell one hidden as he wasn't ready to reveal it just yet. "I'd appreciate it if you would address me by my proper title of either Lord or Professor, Auror Shacklebolt."

"Kingsley, that's enough," Dumbledore said calmly. "And Harry, you should know that you aren't qualified to be addressed by either of those titles. You are still underage and your position at Hogwarts as a Professor's Apprentice is a tenuous connection between the students and staff at best."

"On the contrary, Headmaster," Harry countered, raising his left hand and showing off the signet rings. "While I definitely appreciate Sirius being my godfather, I've been emancipated for a while now, granting me the title of Lord Slytherin and Gryffindor as there was no one occupying the position of head, and as of today, I have taken back my proper position as Lord Potter. You were there, Headmaster, surely you don't forget the laws you have been helping to pass using my family's votes on the Wizengamot? As for the Professor position, you of all people should know that a Professor's Apprentice who has passed the prerequisite OWLs will immediately be granted an unpaid position among the staff at Hogwarts."

"But you're a child!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "You're not old enough to be teaching, let alone managing _three_ powerful houses!"

"I'm afraid Molly is right," Dumbledore sighed. "You're assistance in the classes last year was appreciated, Harry, but I'm going to have to demote you back to the position of student for this year. Perhaps, after you _have_ passed your OWLs, we can discuss you returning to the position."

Harry smirked and pulled out an envelope, sliding it across the table to Dumbledore. "As you can see, I took my OWLs shortly after the fourth task. On top of that, not only do I have control of just over fifty percent of the school through my three houses all having positions on the Board of Governors –which technically makes Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry my personal property –but the headmaster doesn't have the authority to remove anyone from a position appointed by the school herself."

Dumbledore slouched in defeat as he read over the letter containing the results of Harry's OWLs. There truly was nothing he could do to prevent the boy's position from going to his head. "My boy, you must understand, with Voldemort returning to power, we need all the help we can get. While I'm sure you must have had your reasons for your actions, you have impeded us in the fight against him."

"How so?" Harry asked. "How are you fighting him, and how have I hindered that fight?"

"I'm afraid that's classified," Dumbledore replied sternly.

"Then I'm afraid that you and I have nothing left to discuss, Headmaster," Harry announced. "I won't ask you for information on what your Order is doing, but do not expect me to help or provide assistance in anyway either. With that said, I will see you back at Hogwarts in September, Headmaster."

"Harry, how can you say that?" Hermione demanded.

Harry didn't bother replying as he retrieved the envelope, stood, and left Daphne, Tracey, and Astoria not far behind. As he stomped towards the stairs, the curtains covering a painting of a cross between a troll and a woman pulled back and she opened her mouth to start shrieking at the top of her lungs, only for Harry to flick his wand at her and force the curtains closed. He wished both girls a good night at their rooms on the second floor and continued climbing until he ran into the most haggard-looking house elf he had ever met.

"You must be Kreacher," Harry said firmly.

"It asks if Kreacher must be Kreacher," the elf muttered to himself bitterly. "Of course Kreacher must be Kreacher. Just as it must be another of the filthy blood-traitors Master has had parade through this most hallowed home."

"I'll take that as a yes," Harry said as he watched Kreacher amble away muttering to himself. Pushing the interaction from his mind, Harry continued up to one of the abandoned rooms on the third floor and threw himself on the bed.

*(OoO)*

Tensions were higher than ever as Harry ran into Daphne and dragged her down to the kitchen for breakfast.

"Harry, I really don't think this is a good idea," Daphne muttered as they clambered down the stairs.

"Don't be daft," Harry replied, opening the door for her. "Neither Sirius nor I are gonna sneak around in his home to avoid people he's letting stay here. Besides, we'll be heading to my place pretty soon anyways."

"Wait, you're not staying here?" Hermione asked from her spot at the table.

"That's correct," Harry replied.

"Alright, I've had enough of this petty rebellion of yours, Harry," Mrs. Weasley declared angrily. "You may have gotten away with keeping all those secrets of yours, but I will not allow you to endanger yourself by leaving here when You-Know-Who is out there, looking for you."

"Last I checked, Mrs. Weasley," Harry said neutrally as he pulled Daphne's chair out for her before sitting down himself and smiling at Tipsy as she placed a steaming plate of eggs and bacon before them both. "I was and still am an emancipated minor. Meaning I am legally an adult and can make decisions for myself."

"And even if he weren't, the decision would fall to me, not you," Sirius yawned as he joined them and sat across the table from Harry. "Morning all."

"You look terrible," Harry teased upon seeing the bags under Sirius' eyes and the slight limp he walked with.

"Laugh it up, now, cub," Sirius growled. "Because Moony and I are gonna get you back this afternoon."

"What are you two talking about?" Tracey asked as she and Alannah made their way into the kitchen as well.

"Uncle Padfoot's just sour because he's still sore from our last training session," Harry teased.

"Training session?" Mrs. Weasley asked. "Whatever could you be training for?"

"Might have something to do with the all-powerful Dark Lord after his hide, Mum," Fred suggested as he and George also joined them in the kitchen.

"Fred, George," Harry greeted, lifting his glass to each twin respectively and causing them to groan.

"Blimey, Harry, how do you keep doing that?" Fred demanded.

"We switched clothes and everything!" George added.

"Not even Moody is that good at telling us apart."

"And he has a bloody magic eyeball!"

"Sorry, boys, but you simply can't fool me," Harry replied with a smirk.

"Wait, you can tell them apart?" Ron asked as he too entered the rapidly crowding kitchen, shrinking away slightly as Daphne and Tracey glared at him.

"It's not that hard if you just put in a bit of effort," Harry replied coolly.

"So, how'd you do on your OWLs, Harry?" Daphne asked in an effort to avoid any sort of fight.

"You've already taken your OWLs?" Hermione screeched, her face aghast with terror.

"Not too bad, if I do say so myself." Harry replied reaching into his pocket and pulling out the envelope once more. He handed it to Daphne as Penelope, Alannah, and Astoria joined them, packing the kitchen almost to capacity.

"Harry, this is astounding!" Daphne shouted, throwing her arms around Harry's neck. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Morgana's bloomers, Harry," Tracey exclaimed as she read over the transcript. "An O in Defence, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Runes, Arithmancy, and Care for Magical Creatures. With E's in everything else? You've really been holding out on us, haven't you?"

"After I learned that I could get an actual place as a Professor at Hogwarts once I had my OWLs, I was determined to do well so that I could keep the position," Harry replied. "I'm still going to be assisting in classes, rather than teaching my own, but I kind of prefer it that way at the moment since then I won't have to focus on only one subject."

"Are you still going to have your after-dinner sessions?" Astoria asked hopefully.

"Of course," Harry said with a grin. "I look forward to them just as much as the other students do."

"What sessions would these be?" Alannah asked curiously.

"Harry opens up his office for two hours every day after dinner for anyone who wants to come for help in any subject," Tracey explained. "It's usually filled with the younger years who think he's the second coming of Merlin, but it's a pretty nice place to go and hang out, or get help with homework."

"It sounds as if it must get fairly chaotic," Penelope observed.

Harry shrugged. "Not really. My office expands to accommodate everyone, and a few localized muffling charms turn every other discussion around you to a sort of muffled hum, so that the students can focus or come there for a place to speak in private. The only person who can hear everything going on is me."

"I have to say, Professor Potter," Alannah said with a smile. "Any doubts I may have had about your ability to teach students so close to your own age have been assuaged. Not many teachers would go that extra mile."

Harry lifted his glass and inclined his head in thanks. Downing the last of it, and thanking Dobby for taking the dishes away, Harry stood and stretched. "I'm going to be in the library," he announced, turning to Daphne he smiled crookedly when he felt a surge of affection through their bond. "You five should pack your things. Once we've collected and warded everything we'll be leaving."

"Where are we going?" Tracey asked.

"Same place we went last year," Harry replied with a wink making both Tracey and Daphne grin in excitement. The Potter Manor was so much better than the stuffy, deteriorating pile of sticks they had been stuck in since. "You're dad's already waiting for us there, so you don't have to worry about that."

Harry left and headed to the library where Tipsy joined him in picking through the books that they thought would be useful and safe to move, and placed them in a magically enlarged trunk. It took about two hours, and once they were finished, Harry closed the door, locked it, and placed a series of wards to keep anyone other than Kreacher out. He had spoken to Sirius about treating the clearly insane elf with at least a modicum of civility, and Sirius had reluctantly agreed. Sirius and Kreacher then reached some sort of truce when Sirius ordered him to ensure that Grimmauld place was used as nothing other than a shelter to the members of the Order. They weren't to take anything, and were restricted from going anywhere other than the sitting rooms, bedrooms, or dining rooms. Kreacher especially seemed to like hearing that he was to use any means necessary to enforce these rules short of killing or causing permanent injury, and seemed especially confused when Harry kneeled down and told him to come and get him or Sirius if anyone wasn't following the rules and they would listen to Kreacher.

It seemed that an ounce of respect went a long way for the house elves of darker families as Kreacher immediately straightened himself and nodded seriously, the delirious glaze in his eyes already starting to fade as he once more had someone worth serving. Even if he was Sirius-the-runaway's godson.

"It's a right shame you're already leaving, Harry," Fred said later that day when Harry had finished his set of defensive measurements around the house.

"The last twenty-four hours have been the most excitement we've seen since coming here," George added.

"If it makes you both feel any better, I may have a mission for the two of you," Harry replied conspiratorially. "Take me to your room and I'll explain everything."

The twins both nodded and led Harry to a room that looked more like a lab for volatile experiments with two beds pushed against the far wall. There were scorch marks all over the place and various texts laying open on the floor. Harry smirked and knew he had made the right choice in co-conspirators.

"So, what do you have in mind, Harry?" Fred asked.

"First things first," Harry said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small envelope with the Gringotts seal on it. "This is the documentation to a private business account with one thousand galleons therein. I wanted to try my hand at some business myself for once, though I think that I will still generally leave the managing of my money to Griphook and the goblins. I thought about investing in Zonko's Joke Shop, but then I had a better idea. Why not invest in the two men who are inevitably going to put him out of business?"

"Harry…" Fred muttered.

"You don't mean..." George whispered.

"That account has the sum total of my Triwizard winnings," Harry continued. "Consider it a start-up loan. Though, reigniting the stagnant wizarding economy isn't the only reason I have for coming to you two."

"What do you mean?" George asked.

"You're both of age, but not allowed in the Order, right?" Harry asked, smirking inwardly at the scowls on their faces as they nodded angrily. "Well, I don't care about that. There's a war coming, and you two are two of the most capable inventors I have ever met. I want people to be prepared. That's why I want you to establish your joke shop, and use it as a front to also sell inventions to help keep people safe. Other than that you have free reign over what you do with shop."

"It would be an honour to work with you, Harry," Fred declared proudly as George took the envelope from him. "We won't let you down."

"I know you won't," Harry replied with a grin. "There was one other thing though. The ministry plans on interfering at Hogwarts by sending someone to take over the position of Defence Professor. As you heard last night, Hogwarts is my private property –and I don't take kindly to people messing with students taking shelter on my property. That being said, I'm part of the staff now. It wouldn't be very good for me to be seen fighting with one of the other professors."

"Say no more, Harry," George said with a vicious grin. "You've suddenly given us loads to do over the summer. Being given a new target for our pranking ahead of time just allows us to start planning early."

"I'm happy to hear that," Harry said. He had his head on the doorknob when he turned around and all the mischief had disappeared from his face. Fred and George were now looking at the man who truly saw the education, safety, and wellbeing of the students at Hogwarts as his personal responsibility. "One last thing, I can't explain why, but I have a bad feeling about this coming year. Keep an eye out for the other Gryffindors for me, would you?"

Fred and George nodded seriously and Harry relaxed slightly, smiling as he bid them farewell to go see how the ladies he and Sirius were taking with them were progressing in their packing.


	21. Chapter 21

Daphne stumbled slightly as Dobby transported them all back to Potter Manor only to be bowled over by a mass of black before being soaked by a cool tongue and shrieking in laughter.

"Ahh! Hi Rosie! I know, I know! I missed you too!"

"So I guess we know where she went when she left Grimmauld Place," Tracey noted. Not long into their stay at Grimmauld Place, Daphne had noticed Rosie getting more and more agitated, and so told the hellhound to leave the manor and wait until she had left to rejoin her. It had nearly broken Daphne's heart, but Rosie was quickly growing from the little puppy she had met a few months ago. Already she was nearly the same size as Sirius in his animagus form, and she wasn't showing any signs of stopping soon. As such, the other occupants of Grimmauld Place treated Rosie as if she was a vicious beast.

"So, this is Potter Manor," Penelope remarked looking around. "I never would have guessed that it was located on a completely different continent."

"No one ever does," Harry replied as he helped Daphne to her feet and gave Rosie a scratch behind the ears. "That being said, you'll find that I'm less strict about keeping you all locked up here. The Ministry here is still hesitant to provide any help, but they at least acknowledge that he's back, so we're safer here than anywhere in Britain."

"Thank you for housing us here, Lord Potter," Alannah said gratefully.

"Please, call me Harry. As I said before, your husband is already here. We picked him up after his shift at work was finished. Tipsy and Dobby can show you to your various rooms. After you've gotten settled in, feel free to explore, or do whatever. We're about seven hours ahead here, so Tipsy will provide you all with potions to help adjust to the time difference."

"Are we the only ones staying here?" Astoria asked.

"Blaise is in Italy with his family, but Neville and Susan will probably be frequent visitors," Harry replied. "Luna and her father will be joining us, though, in a few weeks once they've finished with this year's search for the Crumple-Horned Snorkack. If you need anything else, simply find me or call for one of the elves."

The remainder of the summer passed in a blur. As opposed to Grimmauld Place, Potter Manor had an almost endless supply of things with which to occupy one's time. Penelope and Alannah often went out to enjoy the many attractions –both magical and muggle –that came with spending time in a foreign country while Edmund went to his job in Knockturn Alley. Luna and her father, Xenophilius, came to join them about a week into their stay, and she and Astoria could often be found on the grounds playing with the many creatures that lived there. Daphne and Tracey would sometimes join them if they weren't lounging around by the small lake behind the manor or reading in the library. They would occasionally be joined by Neville and Susan when their respective guardians were wrapped up with work, and the four of them would practice their magic in the large training room under the supervision of one of the more skilled adults that would frequently visit. Harry was unfortunately wrapped up in meetings most days, but Daphne always smiled when he would inevitably return home and seek her out just to collapse on top of her in a heap and groan about how much he hated politics and bureaucracy.

After the announcement of his titles and positions, the Ministry suddenly found itself in the position of having made a powerful enemy through their smear campaign. Rather than seek retribution, though, they stepped up their attacks. The attempts to slander him over Voldemort were replaced with fighting Remus, Griphook, and Firenze over every little thing. Instead, articles were written about the three of them, highlighting how they weren't qualified to control three of the most powerful seats in the Wizengamot, and alluding to Harry having been manipulated into giving away the power he shouldn't have in the first place. Harry was completely unfazed by it, happily ignoring the ever mounting tensions inside Magical Britain.

The only other time Harry could really be seen was in the training room, where he, Sirius, and either Severus, Remus, Minerva, or Kanen, the wand maker who had made Harry his new wands the year before, would disappear for a handful of hours a day, before re-emerging panting, sore, and with Harry looking extremely worse for wear. Before anyone knew it, September had crept up on them, and they all made their way to King's Cross Station. They were amongst the first on the train, and were joined by Neville, Susan, and Blaise in a compartment near the back, while Astoria and Luna went off to find another to sit with their friends. Daphne once again leaned against Harry, her eyes closed as she listened to him speak softly with Blaise about his trip to Italy. Relishing in the feeling of his arm around her, Daphne used her free time to analyse the connection between the two of them.

She had been worried about him after the tournament –seeing Cedric killed right before his eyes couldn't have been easy –and if their bond when he returned from his fight with Voldemort was anything to go by, Harry had been racked with guilt. She hadn't seen him since then, but, judging by their bond when he came to fetch them from Grimmauld Place, Sirius must have helped Harry deal with it. Daphne had wanted to ask him about it, but considering the fact that Harry didn't seem to be destabilized emotionally anymore, she figured that he would come to her… eventually.

Her thoughts were broken by the sound of their compartment door jostling violently and she reluctantly opened her eyes to a sneering Malfoy, flanked by his two goons. Just behind him, Daphne could see Theodore Nott standing there and the way he looked at her threatened to send a shiver down her spine. The four of them were trying to enter their compartment, but Harry had already warded it to prevent anybody from disturbing them. She watched as Malfoy struggled to open the door, only to become red in the face and storm off when even magic wouldn't open the door, and they all snickered while Harry merely read from his grimoire, having not even reacted.

"You all are going to need to be careful around him," Harry warned. "Professor Snape had to make him and Parkinson prefects so as to maintain his image. He told me to apologise in advance to you Neville, as you're probably going to be one of his punching bags this year."

"I never would have pinned Professor Snape to be the type to apologise for anything," Tracey muttered in astonishment.

"He's really not that bad of guy," Harry replied. "He's just been through a lot. Spying for both sides of the war effort tends to make one fairly stressed as well."

"And you trust him?" Susan asked.

"He and Sirius are two of the small handful of people I do trust."

"Has he told you anything recently?" Susan asked.

"He says that Riddle is trying to get something from the Department of Mysteries," Harry replied. "That's why the Order is down there guarding whatever it is. What they don't know is that he's not even in the country."

"Then where is he?" Blaise asked.

"It's hard to tell," Harry replied. "They're called to different places all over the country where he will meet them by portkey. Severus thinks he's establishing himself farther North in Europe, gathering forces out of country. He thinks that Riddle is a bit more wary after our fight, and is trying to amass his strength before taking on me and Dumbledore. In the meantime, his Death Eaters are split between wreaking havoc with random attacks, and maneuvering themselves in the shadows to the best possible position for when he sets his sights here."

"You must've really given him a run for his money if you scared him out of the country," Tracey remarked.

"Not really," Harry replied with a shake of his head. "Even after everything I've done to prepare, he still outclassed me by a wide margin. It took everything I had to stay alive, and it was only thanks to my research that I was able to hurt him at all. I spoke with Sirius, Severus, and Remus, about their experiences during the first war, and we came to the conclusion that he probably still wasn't anywhere near his full strength when we fought. Odds are he's out of the country so that when he comes here, he'll be at full power."

"Wow," Neville muttered fearfully. "It's hard to think of him getting any stronger."

"There's no point in getting all caught up in imagining how terrifying he is," Harry lectured. "He's not here, and he won't be for a while. On top of that, we're safe while in Hogwarts. If you let him stop you from living your lives, then he's already won."

"Plus that just means that we have time to get stronger as well," Susan added. "I don't know about you all, but I'm not just looking to get O's in my classes so I can get good grades. I plan on using this time to learn everything I can to survive."

"Be ready for a fair amount of self-study, then," Harry replied, standing up. "Course work will only take you so far. Now, hurry up and get your robes on, we're almost there."

He then left the compartment to track down Luna and Astoria while the rest of them took turns getting changed. They didn't see him again until the train came to a stop and they found him standing next to Hagrid helping direct the first years towards the boats.

The five of them managed to get a carriage to themselves and enjoyed the trip back to the castle, but still didn't see Harry, even as the first years were brought in by Professor McGonagall and sorted into their respective houses. Daphne found herself looking around, worried, when Dumbledore was interrupted by the newly announced Defense professor. As dull as Professor Umbridge's little speech was, Daphne did find sick amusement in seeing Dumbledore interrupted like that, and she, Tracey, and Blaise were also able to glean a few details through the cloud of rhetoric, confirming what Harry had told them about the Ministry trying to interfere at Hogwarts. Having learned everything they could from what Umbridge had said, Daphne turned her attention to her missing friend.

She could feel through their bond that Harry was up in his office, and he even sent a pulse of reassuring comfort when she started to worry about him. She wanted to ask him why he had been so distant since rescuing them from Grimmauld Place, but part of her already knew the answer. He may not have been consumed by grief after his month alone with Sirius, but that didn't mean he hadn't changed. She had seen him forge a rather close friendship with Cedric over the year, and for that to be ripped away in an instant would be enough to shake anybody to their core. A fire had been lit inside of him, and Daphne knew that all of the intense training he had been taking part in was because a decision had been made in the depths of Harry's soul. Before, he trained to survive anything that could be thrown at him, content to try and keep his head down and stay out of the affairs of the world that had treated him like both hero and villain depending on what was the more interesting narrative at the time. Now, she knew that he was training himself to fight in an all-out war. More than that, the amount of work he was doing in actively assisting his proxies in their politics told Daphne that he was planning on winning as well.

These thoughts led her all the way to bed where she and Tracey employed a number of wards around their bunks –just in case their roommates got any ideas –where she eventually fell into a fitful sleep.

Her bad mood at having to get back into the groove of waking up earlier for classes ensured that not even Tracey and Blaise would test her patience as she grumpily tore through her breakfast while going over her schedule. Already her week was looking hellish as she noticed that she had practically no free time.

 _I wonder if this is how Harry feels,_ she thought to herself, remembering how rigidly structured Harry's time was last year. She was pleased when Madam Pomfrey stopped by to ask if she would be volunteering in the Hospital Wing again this year, to which she immediately nodded. She had greatly enjoyed the time she had spent there, learning and helping Madam Pomfrey as well as providing her some time alone with Harry to simply be themselves. Her mood brightened further when she went with Blaise and Tracey towards the Defence classroom, preparing themselves for an altogether dreadful double period –having already read the textbook over the summer and concluding along with Harry, Sirius, and Minerva, that the Ministry was not interested in teaching them anything, rather they preferred that they learned as little magic as possible –and they saw Harry sitting at a desk off to the side of the class, reading the most current issue of the _Quibbler._ Upside down.

"Morning, all," he said happily putting down his magazine to smile at them.

"Good to finally see you after that little disappearing act of yours," Blaise replied making Harry chuckle.

"Sorry about that," Harry replied unapologetically. "Didn't feel like fielding the amount of attention I would have gotten by sitting at the staff table."

"You have to sit at the staff table now?" Tracey asked.

"Just for the big feasts."

"Do you know if we have any other classes with you?" Daphne inquired. It had become a well-known fact that the classes Harry helped out in generally had higher marks overall compared to the others.

"You should have Charms, Transfiguration, and Potions with me," Harry replied. "My schedule is kind of all over the place this year so that I can help with the fifth years as well."

Daphne smiled at the idea of all four of her hardest classes having Harry there to help out. He didn't make a point to advertise it, but she knew that he was one of the best wizards Hogwarts had ever seen in a long time, and one of the best teachers as well. Suddenly the dread she had been feeling about her OWL year was lessened and replaced by humor as she saw a rather put out Hermione walk in and slam her text book on the table next to Neville. She had been telling everyone who would listen about how Umbridge and the Ministry were here to interfere with Hogwarts, and as such there was an atmosphere of apprehension as the classroom slowly filled. Even Malfoy was being relatively quiet as he sat near the back of the class next to Nott, glaring at them balefully. On Hermione's other side sat Ron, whose expression was a cross between exhaustion and uncertainty, especially whenever he looked over at where they were sitting at the front of the class, right near Harry's desk.

"Well, good morning!" Umbridge said far too cheerfully as she entered the class, still wearing the gaudy pink cardigan she had been seen in the night before.

A few people murmured greetings in return; unfortunately, they were still far too tired to muster up anything better. Not that it would have been any different had the hour been later. Most people were still unsure what to make of Professor Umbridge, and were treading cautiously.

Umbridge tutted and shook her head, her too-wide smile sending shivers down Daphne's spine. "Oh, I'm afraid that won't do, now will it?" She asked, her voice like poisoned honey. "I should like you, please, to reply 'Good morning, Professor Umbridge'. Now, one more time, please. Good morning, class!"

"Good morning, Professor Umbridge," the class chanted back monotonously, though Daphne had to fight down her laughter as Harry took part and forced entirely too much enthusiasm into his greeting.

"I get a feeling this class might be more interesting than we thought," Tracey muttered through the corner of her mouth as Umbridge pointedly ignored Harry.

"There we go," Umbridge said the condescension in her sweet tone making Daphne barely restrain a sneer. "That wasn't too difficult, was it? Now, wands away, quills out, please."

Grimaces went all around. It was the general consensus that any class that involved more scratching of a quill than waving of a wand was a dull class. Umbridge took out her own wand once they had all done as told and rapped it against the blackboard, making words start to appear in neat cursive.

 _Defence Against the Dark Arts:_

 _A Return to Principles_

"Your previous instruction in this subject has been disturbingly uneven. The constant changing of instructors, many of whom did not follow Ministry-approved curriculums, has unfortunately resulted in your being far below the expected in your OWL year. You will be pleased to know, however, that these mistakes are being rectified. We will be following a carefully-structured, Ministry-approved, course on defensive magic this year. Copy down the following, please."

She tapped the blackboard once more and the previous message was replaced with a new one.

 _Course Aims:_

 _Understanding the principles underlying defensive magic._

 _Learning to recognize situations in which defensive magic may be used legally._

 _Placing the use of defensive magic in a context for practical use._

"Does everybody have a copy of _Dark Arts Defence – Basics for Beginners?"_ Umbridge asked as the sound of quills scratching filled the air.

A dull murmur went through the class.

"Oh dear, I think we best try that once more," Umbridge said. "When I ask you a question, you are to reply with 'Yes, Professor Umbridge', or 'No, Professor Umbridge'. Now, does everybody have their copy of _Dark Arts Defence – Basics for Beginners_?"

"Yes, Professor Umbridge."

Umbridge beamed, as if they were all children that had just learned their first words. "Much better," she cooed. "Now, turn to page five and read chapter one, please. There will be no need to talk."

Umbridge turned around and took a seat at her desk, surveying the class with her toady eyes. Harry sighed quietly, and winked at Daphne before reclining in his seat and lifting his issue of _The Quibbler_ , perfectly aware of the way Umbridge would alternate between staring at him, and ignoring the fact that he existed. He watched over his magazine as Hermione sat with her hand in the air, angrily refusing to so much as open her textbook as she waited for Umbridge to call on her. He had to stifle another sigh, as he knew that things were about to take a turn for the worse. His friendship with Hermione may have withered away over the last two years, but she was still unflinchingly loyal to him – at least when it came to certain matters concerning Voldemort – and, more importantly, Dumbledore. When Umbridge finally broke the stifling silence that pervaded the classroom and pretended to just then notice Hermione, Harry sunk farther behind his magazine, hoping to avoid being sucked into the altercation he knew was coming.

"Did you have a question regarding the chapter, dear?" Umbridge asked. Her voice made Harry struggle not to flinch as it dredged up memories of Aunt Petunia speaking to him in public, the tone sounded sweet to most, but there was an undercurrent of disdain that he could easily detect.

"Not about the chapter, no," Hermione said.

"Well, we're reading at the moment," Umbridge pointed out, giving her a smile that looked to Harry as if she were baring her teeth. "If you have any other questions, we may address them at the end of class."

"I've got a question about the course aims, actually," Hermione replied.

Umbridge raised one of her eyebrows. "And your name is -?"

"Hermione Granger."

"Well, Miss Granger, if you take the time to read them carefully, I think you'll find the course aims to be quite clear."

"Well, I don't," Hermione retorted bluntly. "There's nothing there about using defensive spells."

There was a short silence as everyone turned to stare at the blackboard in bewilderment.

"Using defensive spells?" Umbridge parroted with a high-breathy laugh that Harry could feel made Daphne shiver. "Why, whatever for? Are you expecting to be attacked in the middle of my class, Miss Granger?"

"We're not gonna be using spells?" Ron exclaimed loudly.

"Students in my class raise their hands when they wish to speak, Mister -?"

"Weasley," Ron said, throwing his hand into the air for maybe the first time Harry had seen since they had come to Hogwarts.

"Yes, Miss Granger? You wanted to ask something else?" Umbridge inquired, turning her back on Ron with a small smile.

"Surely the whole point of Defence Against the Dark Arts is to practice defensive spells?"

"Miss Granger, are you a Ministry-trained educational expert?" Umbridge asked, her voice becoming more determinedly sweet.

"No, but –"

"Well then, I don't believe you are quite qualified to know what should or shouldn't be done in class. Wizards much older and smarter than you have devised our new program. You will be learning about defensive spells in a secure, risk-free way –"

"And your name is?" Umbridge asked as Neville threw his hand into the air while Harry barely restrained a groan.

"Neville Longbottom. Surely, if we're gonna be attacked it won't be risk-free –"

"To which, I repeat myself, do you expect to be attacked during my class?"

"No, but –"

"It is not my wish to criticize the way things have run in the past," Umbridge interrupted loudly, her unconvincing smile somehow stretching the extra skin around her cheeks too far. "But there have been some very irresponsible wizards in this class. Very responsible indeed – not to mention," she gave a nasty little laugh that grated at Harry's nerves, "extremely dangerous half-breeds."

"Professor Umbridge," Harry interrupted, putting everything he had into maintaining a mask of calmness. "Forgive my interruption, but I think you might have this class mistaken with the Care for Magical Creatures class."

"And why would that be, Mister Potter?" Umbridge asked, deliberately refusing to use any of Harry's proper titles.

"Because, Professor Hagrid is and has been the only member of the staff who is half-human," Harry explained, deliberately omitting the fact that Professor Flitwick was clearly half-goblin. "And as I'm sure you are aware, liability wavers have been signed for the older years attending that class, the apparent danger there presented by the creatures he teaches about should also be discounted. "

"Ah… yes, the liability wavers," Umbridge replied awkwardly, easily playing along with his lie. Luckily, the rest of the class was too caught up in seeing how this little confrontation would play out to think to point it out to her. "But, I'm afraid that I wasn't referring to Professor Hagrid. However that is beside the point. As I was about to say before I was interrupted, you have been introduced to spells that were far too complex, inappropriate for your age group, and potentially lethal. You have all been frightened into believing that you are likely to be faced with Dark attacks every other day –"

"No, we haven't," Hermione argued, "we just –"

"Your hand is not _up_ , Miss Granger!"

Hermione scowled and thrust her hand in the air only to be ignored.

"It is my understanding that my predecessor performed illegal curses on you –"

"And we learned how to recognize and resist the Imperius Curse because of it." Neville said hotly. "Not to mention he and Harry taught us loads –"

"Your hand is not up, Mister Longbottom!" Umbridge trilled. "Now, it is the view of the Ministry that a theoretical knowledge will be more than sufficient to get you through your examination, which, after all, is what school is all about. And your name is?" She added, staring at Tracey, whose hand had just shot up.

"Tracey Davis, and isn't there a practical portion of our defence OWL? Aren't we expected to show that we can actually perform the required spells?"

"As long as you have carefully and thoroughly studied the theory, there should be no reason why you should not be able to perform the spells under carefully controlled exam conditions," Umbridge replied dismissively.

"Without having ever practiced them beforehand?" Tracey asked incredulously. "You mean to say that the first time we'll be _trying_ the spells will be during the exam?"

"I repeat, as long as you have studied the theory hard enough –"

Throughout the entire class Harry could feel his anger steadily growing. More importantly, he could feel Daphne's rage threatening to explode out of her. Seeing she was about to do something she would probably regret, Harry cut her off.

"What good is theory going to do them out in the real world?" He muttered from behind his magazine, just loud enough for Umbridge to hear.

"This is school, Mister Potter, not the real world," Umbridge said softly.

"And is it not our job as educators to prepare them for when they inevitably must go out there?" Harry asked coolly.

"There is nothing waiting out there to prepare for, Mister Potter," Umbridge replied condescendingly. "And I think you would be wise not to equate our positions at this school, else you may find yourself being punished for being disrespectful."

Harry ignored her second comment, not wanting to sidetrack the conversation or show his hand until he absolutely had to. It wasn't common knowledge yet that he was the proprietor of Hogwarts, or that he had passed his OWLs, and he hoped to keep it that way. "Then why, may I ask, have the Aurors not been disbanded? If there aren't any bad people out there, surely there is no need for them."

"Who do you imagine would attack children such as yourselves?" Umbridge inquired, her sweet tone doing nothing to hide the fact that this was an obviously leading question, in the hopes of getting him to bring up Voldemort.

"There is a ghost on the second floor by the name of Myrtle, who is proof that students have been attacked in the past," Harry countered easily. "And surely, you haven't forgotten that every student in their seventh year is legally an adult? The world is much larger outside of Magical Britain. You have read about the unrest in Bulgaria, no?"

Umbridge gaped at Harry's smooth logic and careful deconstruction of her arguments, while many in the class contemplated what he said. Most still held a hearty dislike for him, particularly after the last years of character attacks against him, but Harry had a knack for explaining things in a way that were easy to understand and difficult to retort. The classroom was silent and still as they watched the battle of wills between the two of them.

"Now, let me make something quite plain," Umbridge announced, turning her back on Harry as she addressed the class. "You have been told that a certain Dark Wizard has returned from the dead. This is a lie. The Ministry of Magic guarantees you are not in any danger from any Dark wizard. If you are still worried, by all means, come and see me outside class hours. If someone is alarming you with fibs about reborn Dark wizards, I should like to hear about it. I am here to help, and will not tolerate fear-mongering. I am your friend."

"Professor, what does that have to do with what we were talking about?" Blaise asked, raising his hand.

"The matter is closed," Umbridge said sharply, the sugar in her voice being replaced with steel for only an instant. "Now, we are reading chapter one. In silence. For the remainder of the class."

The entire class looked at Harry as if they expected him to go off on her in a righteous fury. To their disappointment, Harry merely reclined in his seat, throwing his feet up on his desk and reopened his magazine.

"You heard the Professor," he said from behind the pages, secretly enjoying the look Umbridge was undoubtedly leveling him with. "Get reading."

The rest of the class was spent with him pretending to read while he delved into the various Occlumency techniques he had learned to move through the anger Umbridge had produced within him. He took deep breaths as he settled in and prepared himself for what would inevitably a long year of dealing with Dolores.


	22. Chapter 22

With the first week over, Harry found himself sitting in his office, thinking over the events of that first Defence Class. Umbridge had taken to trying to ignore Harry's very presence in the halls, while at the same time casually dropping references to the many things the _Prophet_ was trying to slander him with. Harry merely shrugged it off, having taken out his own studies. While he couldn't do much about getting rid of Umbridge as Griphook and Firenze were being blocked at every turn in their attempts on the Board of Governors, he was aware that he was the only member of staff in the position to do anything, seeing as Dumbledore was being suspiciously aloof – even for him. Unlike the other Professors who were worried about losing their jobs to the Ministry, Harry was safe thanks to the same rules that kept Dumbledore from removing him from his position on the staff.

So far, the plan was to start small. Be civil, yet irritating, so as to steadily turn everyone against Umbridge. It had pleased him to no end when he had pulled out a nice fountain pen and found out how much it seemed to irritate her when he used it over a quill. He had been forced to explain the situation to Daphne later that day, as she had apparently been sitting in her Arithmancy class and suddenly felt a rather strange bubble of vindictive joy from him through their bond and was worried he had done something stupid. As such, he was considering other small ways to grate on Umbridge's nerves. Fred and George would certainly be helpful as they had already started off the year with a bang by introducing their Skiving Snackboxes and announcing that they would be on sale to all Hogwarts students, while any other product used on members of staff (with the exception of Harry) would earn the students a discount on their next purchase. Harry had to hand it to them for finding a way to turn the animosity some of their customers were sure to feel when they inevitably got detention into a marketing ploy. He knew he had made the right choice in people to invest in.

The real issue, though, was the fact that every student in Hogwarts was effectively losing a year of education in Defence –with the fifth and seventh years in particular being affected the worst.

 _"Why don't you just teach it?"_ Kyddris asked from his spot curled up in the corner of the office. His size had easily doubled since the tournament, and Harry was eternally thankful that Hogwarts had seen fit to provide him with an office that could accommodate pretty much anything he needed, as a thirty-foot, two ton dragon tended to take up quite a bit of room when he wasn't hidden as a tattoo on Harry's chest.

 _"What do you mean?"_ Harry hissed in confusion.

 _"The frog-lady is restricting your students from reaching their full potential. Why don't you just use the time you offer everyone to help teach them what they are supposed to know."_

 _Kyddris has a point,_ Zephyr chimed in as he flew over from his perch near the window to land on Harry's desk right next to the framed photo of his parents. _Whether they want to admit it or not, there is a war brewing underneath the surface of your world. This castle is yours by right, and has chosen you to help educate and protect them. Do so._

"I'll think about it," Harry replied as a soft knock on his door alerted him to someone being just outside. A quick glance at his map told him it was Daphne, and he opened the door with a thought, rising to his feet to greet her.

"You know," he said as she stepped into his office and threw herself onto a plush, leather couch near the fireplace, a happily panting Rosie right behind her. "Breaking curfew to come sneak into a staff member's office is bound to get people talking."

"Let them," Daphne groaned. "Do you have any idea how much homework I have to do over this weekend?" She was dressed in baggy pyjama pants with little dragons on them, and a loose tank top. Harry couldn't understand how she could naturally look adorable and ravishing at the same time, and quickly put a lock on his feelings. Daphne had always been one of the most attractive girls at the school, and the fact that Harry's imprint made the primal side of him always yearn to take her as his mate did not make controlling himself any easier. Part of him wished he could simply pull away from her, for her own sake, but he couldn't bring himself to be subjected to the pain of that kind of separation, even if it got harder and harder every day to act in a purely platonic manner.

"Yeah, I was there when most of it was assigned," Harry deadpanned, smirking as the desks and books disappeared from his office along with the door to his private room as it materialized inside the main office itself, creating a large bedroom while he turned his attention to Rosie as she made a beeline for where Kyddris was curled up and clambered onto his massive head where she laid down herself, barking happily when a long, forked tongue slipped out and up to give her a quick lick on the cheek. "You know, you and Rosie could have shadow-traveled here, rather than risk getting caught in the hallways, right?"

"We tried," Daphne said, her voice muffled by the pillow that had appeared under her face. "Ended up appearing in the boy's lavatory in Ravenclaw Tower the first time."

Harry snorted as he shed his robes and got himself changed for the night, blushing as he felt Daphne staring at his chest. She was the only one he was willing to expose himself in front of, as, even now, seeing the scars in his own reflection just brought up memories that were best left where they were. He couldn't stand the idea of someone else seeing his scars and knowing that he was still the same broken little boy that had lived in a cupboard under the stairs. He was drawn from his thoughts when Daphne whistled as he shed his undershirt.

"You know, if I didn't know better, I'd think you were trying to seduce me, Professor Potter."

Harry smiled as he shed his pants as well, changing into a comfortable pair of track pants. He should have felt embarrassed, especially when Daphne stood up and walked purposefully over to him. He watched, stunned, as she reached up and ran her fingers over one of the scars on his torso left by the dragon from the first task last year.

"Don't hide," she whispered as he moved to step away from her. "Please. Not from me."

Harry took a deep shuddering breath, and determinedly looked away, unwilling to look at the marred flesh even as Daphne ran her soft fingertips over each scar. With a quiet huff, Daphne pulled him towards the large four-poster bed where they settled against one another as darkness enveloped the room. They laid together in the safety of the dark without uttering a word for what felt like hours before Harry spoke. He wasn't sure if Daphne was even still awake, but was reassured that she was listening when he received a small squeeze around his arm as he held her close to his chest.

"Before I came to Hogwarts, I lived in a cupboard."

It wasn't much, but it was a start. More importantly, it was a promise to make an effort in the future.

Harry was awoken the next morning by a soft knock on his door. He groaned as the knocking refused to cease, and carefully extracted himself from underneath Daphne as he threw on a robe and checked the map to see who it was. He immediately became alert when he saw that it was Umbridge outside the blank spot on his map where his office was supposed to be. Closing his eyes and focusing, he rearranged his office to look like it normally did, separating his bedroom and office into two rooms once more, and threw his Invisibility Cloak over Daphne as he called Kyddris back into his tattoo form before throwing on a house coat and walking out into his office. When he opened the door, he couldn't help but scowl at Umbridge as she stood there with a devious little smile on her face.

"Can I help you?" He asked irritably.

"Good morning, Mister Potter," Umbridge said, ignoring Harry's question as she tried to walk past him into his office.

"Dolores," Harry returned, planting himself firmly in the doorway. "What are you doing here?"

"One should always remember to address your superiors by their proper titles, Mister Potter," Umbridge lectured. "Else you run risk the risk as being seen as disrespectful."

"I'll remember that when I'm speaking to a superior," Harry said calmly, willing three of his five rings into existence. "Now, is there a reason you've decided to pay a visit to me at seven in the morning on a Saturday?"

"I simply wished to speak with you about how we would be addressing our classes together in the future," Umbridge said cheerily. "After our first day together, I thought it prudent we discuss your… duties when attending my classes."

"No need," Harry replied. "I'm already well aware of my duty to the students of this school."

"And what about your duty to the Professor whose assistance you are providing?" Umbridge asked.

"I think we both know what that entails," Harry retorted. "Now, if you ever want to speak about what's truly on your mind _Dolores_ , feel free to make an appointment with me. Barring that, I'd appreciate you not disturbing me when I'm sleeping."

Without another word, Harry slammed the door in her face.

"Why do I get a feeling that she's going to be _more_ dangerous than the actual Death Eater who was teaching us last year?" Daphne asked as she threw off his cloak.

"Because she is," Harry answered, turning around and wrapping his arms around her. "I need you and the others to be careful around her. I wouldn't put it past her to punish you all to get to me, and I won't always be there to cover for you if you're about to lose your temper."

"I know," Daphne murmured. "It's just… she made me so angry. Harry, I _heard_ him. I felt what you were feeling when you fought him. For her to brush it off and just antagonize you like that… it enraged me."

"I know, but you can't risk losing your composure," Harry said. "Remember, you're Hogwarts' very own Ice Queen. If anyone can maintain their composure, it's you."

Daphne rolled her eyes and tightened her grip around him. "You know I hate that moniker."

"Doesn't mean you don't use it to your advantage." Harry smirked and buried his face in her hair. "Besides, Sunshine isn't quite as intimidating."

Once they were dressed, they went down for breakfast in the kitchens, as was habit for Harry. They spent a couple hours down there with the elves, enjoying the camaraderie they showed each other and the joy they all showed at having the chance to dine with them like equals. After breakfast they went down to the lake where Harry transfigured his robes into a wetsuit while Daphne sat against a nearby tree with Rosie and Zephyr, watching Harry and the giant squid swim laps around each other before playfully wrestling. She was eventually joined by Tracey, Susan, and Neville, and once Harry had been hurled towards the shore by the squid, they all left for an early lunch before retiring to Harry's office, where they were joined by Blaise and started work on their mountain of homework while Harry entered a separate room that had appeared to train for a few hours before coming back to help them.

By the time dinner rolled around on Sunday, the five of them were done with their homework, and Harry had even found the time to help them with some of their practical assignments afterward, and when all of his friends received perfect marks on their assignments, on top of being among the first to master the spells they had all been tasked with working on over the weekend, word quickly started to spread that he had a hand in it.

"My sister has something she would like to ask you," Padma had said one evening as she and Parvati stood in his office.

"I was wondering…" Parvati muttered sheepishly. "If you could, you know… help me. With school."

"Sure," Harry replied easily. "Just take a seat and get to work. If you have a question, raise your hand, and I'll get to you in a bit."

"Wait, just like that?" Parvati asked incredulously.

"Just like that," Harry said with a smile. "Of course you're welcome as well, Padma. The only rules are that you respect the other students working here, and, if you can, try to help anyone who needs it."

And with that, more and more fifth years slowly started joining in on Harry's open sessions. Parvati and Padma began spending more time with him and his friends. Harry enjoyed the way they would alternate with being almost as in sync with each other as Fred and George, and playful bickering that generally entertained most onlookers. After about two weeks of hanging around the group, the Patil twins had started to firmly integrate themselves into Harry's close circle of friends.

*(OoO)*

The last weekend of September was the first Hogsmeade weekend of the year, and, as per usual, he and Daphne had elected to stay while their friends went to enjoy the little village. Harry was using the time to read up on his family tree. Something had been bothering him about the number of titles he had inherited for a while now, and his reveal to the world as Lord of three of them had reignited his curiosity. Meanwhile, Daphne was reclining on the couch, her feet draped across his lap as she read an article in the _Daily Prophet._ Apparently, a man by the name of Sturgis Podmore had been arrested for breaking into a top secret room at the Ministry.

"What do you think he was trying to do?" Daphne asked.

"I'm not sure, but I'll ask Severus and Minerva and see if the Order knows anything," Harry replied.

"It still astounds me that you have both Professor Snape, and the Deputy Headmistress spying on Dumbledore for you."

"You make it sound so sinister," Harry said with a smirk, not looking up from the page he was reading on a branch of the Potter Family that had met the Romans when they came from Italy.

"If you ask any wizard siding with Dumbledore, it is."

Harry was about to reply when he was interrupted by a pounding on his door. A brief glance at the map told him it was the Patil twins, and he waved his hand, opening the door with thought as Parvati came storming in, followed by a concerned Padma.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked. "Are you two okay?"

"I am," Padma replied. "She, on the other hand, has been in a right foul mood since I ran into her. Wouldn't tell me why till we got here, though."

"Parvati, what's wrong?" Harry asked once more, putting away his book and rising to his feet.

"I can't believe them!" Parvati exclaimed angrily while Padma closed the door behind her.

"Who?" Daphne asked.

"Hermione and Lavender!" Parvati shouted. "They keep having rows about whether or not Harry's lying, and I'm just so sick of the way both of them talk about you!"

Harry was touched by the sincerity in Parvati's voice and offered her a seat. "I don't care what they say about me. If people don't want to put the effort in to get to know me, then I don't want to deal with them in the first place."

"But I do!" Parvati retorted. "You're my friend, and while I agree with Hermione that I don't think you're lying, I can't stand the way she talks about you. Everyone either thinks you're a lying attention hog, mentally damaged, or the next Dark Lord, and it's so sickening to listen to."

"You don't think I'm lying?" Harry asked.

"Neither of us do," Padma said. "The Ministry can try to sow doubt throughout the country, but anyone who's met you would know that you wouldn't lie about You-Know-Who coming back."

"Not to mention it's Dumbledore who's still advocating for that," Daphne added. "Harry hasn't said a word about him since he came back from his fight with him."

Both Parvati and Padma gasped in fright. "Y-you actually fought him?" Parvati asked.

"I thought you just saw him and got out of there," Padma added.

"Yeah," Harry replied softly, his eyes losing some of their focus. "He killed Cedric then challenged me to a duel. I was just lucky he wasn't back to full strength, and I had managed to catch him by surprise. Otherwise he would have killed me before I got out of there." Parvati and Padma both looked stunned to hear about their friend facing off against the most powerful Dark wizard of all time and admitting to only surviving through luck. "Luckily, Amelia Bones believes me, and is working with me to take down his followers while he operates from the shadows."

"I can't believe all this is taking place right under our noses while we're stuck here, dealing with Umbridge."

"Dealing with Umbridge is exactly what you should be doing," Harry replied. "There isn't much any of us can do while we're here, and if we allow ourselves to be ruled by fear, then Riddle wins. Remus, Griphook, and Firenze are doing all they can to help Amelia, while Dumbledore and his little club are working on their own counter-strategy as well."

"How are we going to deal with her?" Daphne asked as she folded up her paper and properly sat up. She was still somewhat uncomfortable about letting her guard down around the twins, but Harry could see she was quickly warming up to them.

"Kyddris, Zephyr, and I have been talking, and I think I might have an idea," Harry replied. "I just need to speak with some of the other professors first."

"Who's Kyddris?" Padma asked.

"My familiar," Harry replied, jabbing his thumb to the corner where Kyddris was curled up with Rosie. He couldn't help but snort with laughter as both twins shrieked in fright at the sight of a sleeping dragon that they had somehow not noticed. Kyddris opened his gleaming red eyes and huffed at the disruption to his nap, blowing twin rings of smoke out of his nostrils.

"Y-y-y-you have a dragon as a familiar?" Padma stuttered.

"I thought that gorgeous bird that sometimes rides around on your shoulder was your familiar," Parvati added.

At the mention of his name, Zephyr flew from his spot next to Hedwig on their perch near the window over to land on Harry's shoulder and nuzzled him affectionately.

"Zephyr's more of a really good friend and guide," Harry replied. "He and I are close, and he sometimes gives me advice, but my magic is linked to Kyddris, the same way Daphne's is linked to Rosie."

"What kind of dragon is he?" Padma asked, her fear being replaced by curiosity when Kyddris raised his massive head and joined Zephyr in showering Harry with affection.

"He's a Ukrainian Ironbelly," Harry replied. "It's a good thing Hogwarts decided to give me this room as my office, else the only places he would fit would be the Great Hall and the Chamber of Secrets."

"Have you been down there at all recently?" Daphne asked, ignoring the astounded looks on the Patil twins' faces. They were going to have to learn to stop being so amazed by everything if they planned on being Harry's friends without suffering from an aneurism.

"Once, after I finished my OWLs," Harry replied. "Sirius and I emptied it out while I gave Griphook and Ragnok the Basilisk to harvest and sell in my place. They told me they would send me the skeleton when they were done though."

"So there really was a monster down there?" Parvati asked.

"Yup. A student had been possessed and was unleashing the basilisk on the school. The only reason no one died is because they were all incredibly lucky. That's how I got Gryffindor's sword." He pointed to the sword where it was sitting on a rack over his fireplace above his Firebolt and behind the orb he had gotten from the Horntail when he killed it and a picture of him and Sirius in Banff soon after he had been exonerated. His own sword sat in its sheath in his room, waiting to be summoned to him with only a thought.

Padma and Parvati then spent the rest of the day studying with Daphne in Harry's office, and were eventually joined by Neville, Blaise, Tracey, and Susan, while Harry wrote short letters to his fellow staff members asking if they would be available for a series of short meetings. He promptly received affirmations from each of them, and smiled as he sent one to Remus and Sirius as well.

"I miss Hagrid," Susan groaned after dinner. "The Blast-Ended Skrewts may have been a right pain to deal with, but at least they were more interesting than having to draw Bowtruckles."

"Try having to fight them," Harry replied bitterly.

"Where is he, anyway?" Blaise asked.

"He and Madame Maxime went to go and try to negotiate with the giants for Dumbledore," Harry explained. "Severus said they left sometime in June and should have been back by now. All things considered, it's probably for the best that he's not here at the moment."

The rest of the evening passed quietly, with everyone but Daphne leaving once curfew drew near.

"I have to patrol with the prefects for the next hour," Harry said once they were alone. "Are you gonna stay here or head back to your dorm?"

"Do you really need to ask?" Daphne replied. She had spent nearly every night in Harry's office, finding she slept better when curled up next to him. "Who are you patrolling with?"

"Malfoy."

Daphne cringed. "What did you have to do to get saddled with that?"

"Nothing," Harry replied. "Dumbledore set it up. Probably to subtly get back at me for the way I acted last time I saw him."

"Oh yes, showing some spine was dreadfully disrespectful of you," Daphne lectured sarcastically. "Hopefully spending an hour alone with Malfoy will teach you how to properly show respect."

Harry laughed and wrapped Daphne up in a hug. "I'll see you in an hour."

They separated and he managed to see Daphne curling up with a book and his map just as he closed the door behind him before making his way down to the dungeons.

"Great," Malfoy muttered once they met up near the entrance to the Slytherin common room. "Of course I would have to spend an hour stuck with you, Scarhead."

"That'll be ten points from Slytherin for disrespecting a staff member, Malfoy," Harry replied calmly, barely glancing at Malfoy as they began walking down the corridor, looking around for any students that may be out passed curfew.

"What?!" Malfoy exclaimed. "You can't do that!"

"I think you'll find I can. Now, since I know that the concept of respect is foreign to you, I'll allow you to address me by my last name. Anything other than that or my proper titles and I will dock more House points as well as start handing out detentions. Are we clear?"

"Crystal," Malfoy growled lowly.

They continued to walk in silence until Harry held up a hand and pointed to two students pressed up against the wall of one of the secret passages. Drawing his wand, he fired a small sphere of light that exploded right near the two late night lovers with a loud pop.

"Curfew was twenty minutes ago," Harry said bluntly, glancing at the colors of the two ties lying on the ground. "Ten points from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff. Now get back to your respective Houses before I see fit to issue detentions."

The commanding way he spoke sent the two seventh years scurrying back to their Houses without question while Malfoy simply looked annoyed.

"Only ten points from them both?" He asked. "Clearly someone has a bias."

"That'll be another ten points for disrespect, Malfoy," Harry replied without even glancing at him. "Next time it'll be twenty and detentions with Filch."

Malfoy wanted to reply, but was interrupted by a loud bang. Both of them ran towards one of the abandoned classrooms, where they found Fred and George covered in soot.

"Gentlemen," Harry said, drawing the twins' attention. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Just some… late night potions homework," Fred replied with a wink.

"PRACTICING FOR OUR NEWTS," George shouted. Harry could see blood leaking from his ears and guessed that he had blown out his eardrums.

Harry was aware of the fact that they were lying, but he wasn't about to oust them in front of Malfoy. Faking an exasperated sigh, he pinched the bridge of his nose and vanished the results of their experiments with a wave of his wand.

"Fred, take George to the Hospital Wing and truthfully tell Madam Pomfrey what happened. Ten points from Gryffindor for both of you, and fifteen each for endangering yourselves. Next time I catch you, it'll be twenty and detention."

Fred nodded, figuring that it was a fair punishment and led his brother up the stairs. Malfoy once again looked like he wanted to say something, but held his tongue as he simply followed Harry through the halls for the remaining thirty-five minutes before being escorted back to his House where he left Harry to go back to his office.

He ran into Fred and George once more on his way back, Madam Pomfrey having apparently fixed Georges ears already, and chuckled as they both froze with their wands still hovering over cauldron of bubbling ooze.

"Don't worry boys, I'm not on duty anymore," Harry reassured them with a wink before continuing on his way. He arrived at his office and smiled when he saw Daphne asleep in his bed, curled up with Rosie while a book hung limply in her hand. Quickly changing, he quietly climbed into bed behind her, smiling when she seemed to unconsciously reach for his arm and pull it over her waist as he tucked her head in the crook of his neck and closed his eyes, allowing the soothing smells of vanilla and parchment to lull him to sleep.

*(OoO)*

The next day, there was a cavalcade of visitors in Harry's office. The first was Kanen. He arrived soon after breakfast, and barely grunted to them in greeting as he delivered an ornate pot covered with a kaleidoscope of colours and filled with strange, electric blue dirt, and a small metal box.

"It's finally done?" Harry asked, a hopeful grin on his face.

"Yes, it's finally done," Kanen grumbled. "Of course the first seed I have to craft in nearly a century has to be one of the most complicated combinations ever."

"What are you two up to?" Daphne asked somewhat playfully.

"You remember our visit to Kanen's last year?" Harry asked.

"I do. He's the one who made you those two wands of yours."

"I didn't make the wands, you insufferable simpleton," Kanen growled, jerking his thumb in Harry's direction once he had set the pot down near Harry's desk, about five feet from Kyddris, Rosie, and Zephyr. "He did. I just helped."

"It's called a Crafting Ceremony," Harry clarified as she opened her mouth to ask. "They're generally frowned upon, and completely illegal here because it involves the wand crafter using the Imperius Curse on you to control you as you create your wand as well as using Legillimency to imbue the process with your own personal touch."

"And it wasn't easy," Kanen added. "Even when he's letting you in, the kid is incredibly hard to control. On top of that, those two wands might be the greatest and most complex things I've ever helped craft, second only to what we're about to do now."

"What are you about to do now?" Daphne asked.

"Kanen's going to help me craft a staff," Harry replied. "They predate wands and work as a better focus for magic. The thing is, crafting a staff takes a long time, since you essentially have to grow it like you would a tree."

"So that's what you meant by crafting a seed?"

"Look at that, she's learning," Kanen mumbled. He was interrupted by a series of flashes as Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, Sprout, and Snape entered the office through the fireplace, quickly followed by Sirius and Remus.

"Harry, is there a reason we're all meeting here?" McGonagall asked as the gathered adults all looked between each other.

"There is," Harry replied sheepishly. "It's just that you're all a little earlier than I was expecting."

"Merlin's beard!" Sprout exclaimed. "Are you about to begin crafting a staff?"

"That would depend on whether you all can keep it a secret," Harry replied, his eyes narrowing. Daphne could already see him stiffening in anticipation of things going horribly wrong.

"No need to worry, Harry," Flitwick reassured him. "Pomona and I have always endeavored to keep our distance somewhat from Dumbledore's affairs. What you do is your business."

"Thank you," Harry replied, relaxing once more.

"Excuse me, sir," Professor Sprout said, addressing Kanen. "Would you mind walking me through what you plan on doing? I'm the Herbology professor here, and it would be an absolute honour to witness the growth of a staff."

"Fine, just don't call me sir," Kanen grumbled, though Daphne could see a small glint in his eye at the idea of sharing his art with others. "As I was saying before you all stormed in, Harry's wands are two of the most powerful and complex wands I have ever created – and I would wager that there amongst the most powerful wands in the world." He held out his hand and Harry withdrew his left-hand wand, placing it carefully in Kanen's weathered palm. "Ash cleaves to one true master like no other. It's loyalty to its wielder has been known to even be harmful to others who would attempt to use it. Ebony, on the other hand, is highly suited to all manner of combative magic, as well as having an interesting affinity for Transfiguration. Under normal circumstances, it's next to impossible to mix two different types of wood. These two, in particular, are as diametrically opposed as their colouring would indicate. Normally when someone resonates with more than one type of wood, they settle on the one they connect with more. Harry, however, resonated with three different types equally, and it was clear that the magic in the woods would not accept him choosing one over the others."

"When I tried to settle on one, the other two would start flying about the room, smashing everything," Harry explained, smiling sheepishly as the others chuckled while Sirius muttered a quiet "typical Harry."

"What was the third wood he connected with?" Flitwick inquired.

"Acacia," Kanen answered. "Yet another unusual wand wood, it also makes wands that refuse to produce any magic for any but their owner, but at the same time require a particular gifted individual to use them to their fullest extent."

"So how does one mix two different types of wood?" McGonagall asked.

"The first way is with Transfiguration," Kanen explained. "You transfigure the two wand woods around the core to mix their properties. This, however, also dilutes, not just their own properties, but that of the core as well. It also can't be done using a crafting ceremony, as the crafter is too busy maintaining the Imperius and guiding the wizard. Therefore, the other method is to use a rather tricky bit of Alchemy. Lucky for me, though, my customer happened to have somehow tripped and fallen into inheriting the Flamel Legacy, so we had all the necessary tools and texts to successfully transmute the ash and ebony into their liquid states and use the nectar from the Acacia as the bonding agent."

"You're the heir to the Flamel family as well?!" Sirius nearly shouted.

"I know, I'm just as shocked as you," Harry replied. "I've been searching and searching, but I can't seem to find any trace of my family that even went to France, let alone connected with the Flamels."

"This seems like it will probably be a question for Griphook to look into," Remus said thoughtfully. "I'll be sure to bring it up to him next we meet."

"Anyway," Kanen said irritably. "All this expositing brings us back to the issue of crafting a proper staff. To do that, a seed has to be crafted first that will naturally grow the wood, cultivating and imbuing it with magic. As Harry's staff is made out of a mixture of woods, a sort of hybrid seed needed to be bred." Reaching inside the box under his arm, Kanen pulled out a large seed the size of a grapefruit. It looked similar to Harry's wand, with black and white swirling around as if they were two liquids mixing together.

"Once the seed is bred, it needs to be planted with the owner's wand – or in Harry's case, wands – and a second sample of their core."

At the mention of cores, Zephyr flew over with a long, silver dagger in his talons and landed on Harry's shoulder, handing it to him.

"I suppose it should come as no surprise that you would have the tail feather of a thunderbird as your core," Snape remarked.

"Yet another powerful but difficult to master component," Kanen said as he roughly plucked one of Zephyr's long, elegant tail feathers, ignoring his reproachful glare. "It's particularly good with Transfiguration, and has been known to occasionally warn its owner of impending danger. But it's not the only part of Harry's cores." Gasps rang through the room as Harry sliced open his palm with the dagger, barely even flinching as blood began to seep from the wound. He took the feather from Kanen and soaked it red. "An infusion of basilisk venom and phoenix tears," Kanen explained. "With Harry's blood as a catalyst. Even I'm not entirely sure of the exact properties these two imbue into the wand." Kanen placed the seed and wand on Harry's desk and pulled out a pair of gloves before gently taking the feather back from Harry as he drew his wand and quickly healed his hand, placing it on the desk next to the seed. "There, now your letter said you wanted to use something other than a third emerald as your focus?"

"That's correct," Harry replied, walking over to his mantelpiece and grabbing the burning red sphere he had placed on a stand there. He plucked the sphere off its stand, smiling as he felt a strange warmth seep down to his very soul, and walked over to hand it to Kanen.

"Harry, where did you get that?" Remus asked as he observed the small flame inside the sphere with great interest.

"During the first task of the tournament last year, I had to fight a Hungarian Horntail who had lost her children," Harry explained, taking a deep breath to steady himself as Daphne walked over to wrap her arms around him. "She was in so much pain that she was begging for death, so when I faced her, I decided to use Gryffindor's Sword to send her to be with her children while also providing her with one last fight so she could die with her pride intact. When I finally beat her, she thanked me, and somehow shed a single tear that turned into that."

"Do you know what this is?" Kanen asked. Harry shook his head, his eyes still focused on the ground as he relived the painful memory of having to end the life of such a beautiful creature. "Harry, this is the physical manifestation of a magical core. When a magical being dies, their magic usually joins the ambient magic all around us. In the cases of jewels like these, you usually only see them during something like the Dementor's Kiss, where it's bonded to the soul of the person being kissed and takes the form of a tiny ball of light. I've only ever seen one other solid core before. It came from a human, though, and was a little smaller than a grape."

"Where would you have seen something like this before?" McGonagall asked suspiciously.

"Grindelwald's fanatics did more than just commit mass slaughter," Kanen growled. "I was in one of their prisons in Russia when your Great Hero Dumbledore was still refusing to so much as step foot on a battlefield, let alone face him. Even after he was locked up in his own fortress, they kept conducting their sick experiments, not that anyone cared to come help us. Grindelwald was defeated, the war was over. Why would anyone think to make sure his side had actually given up? One day, they were experimenting with removing the magical core from their prisoners, and they almost managed to do it. What they didn't know was that a magical core removed by force is one of the most dangerous and volatile things in the world. It exploded and killed nearly everyone there. I only survived because Zephyr saved me. Everything else was pretty much wiped out without a trace."

"If that is the case," Snape said. "Then is it wise to include something so… dangerous into the staff?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that you were also a Master Craftsmen," Kanen growled angrily, clearly just as caught up in the emotions of his past as Harry had been. "If you had bothered to listen, you giant bat, you would have noticed a big difference between this core, and the one I had seen back then. That poor creature didn't have its magic removed by force; she willingly chose to bestow it upon Harry as thanks for honouring her and returning her to her children. Good on her for that, because now those assholes in your Ministry won't be able to shit all with what the inevitably tried to harvest from her corpse. Even the scales will lose any magical property." Turning to Harry, Kanen calmed down significantly as he reverently held the glowing red core in his hand and placed it with the feather and seed. "Harry, it would be an honour to include her last gift in your staff. Now, are you ready for the crafting ceremony?"

"I am," Harry replied with a deep breath. "Now that I know what to expect, I'll try to give you complete control, but be you should still be careful, I'm not about to lower all of my defenses."

Kanen chuckled and slapped a hand on Harry's shoulder, making him flinch slightly. Reaching out his other hand, a long, gnarled staff made of ancient wood appeared in his hand. "As you shouldn't," he said, placing the end of the staff against Harry's forehead. " _Imperio_ , _legillimens,_ " he muttered making everyone gasp while many wands were drawn.

"Wait!" Daphne cried jumping in between Kanen and the six wands being pointed at him. "It's part of the Crafting Ceremony! Kanen has to be able to control Harry so that Harry can craft the staff."

"Is that true, Pomona?" McGonagall asked skeptically.

"I wouldn't know," Sprout replied. "The crafting of a staff is pretty much a lost art. I only knew that it required a thorough understanding of Herbology to attempt it."

They all watched suspiciously as Harry started to move while Kanen stood perfectly still. Walking over to his desk, Harry drew his wands and placed them with the other ingredients, then reached down and pulled out a stick of chalk. As soon as he shut the drawer, the office replaced his desk with a large stone table, devoid of anything except for the core, feather, and seed. Harry began drawing on the surface of the table all the while mumbling under his breath in what seemed to Daphne as a mixture of the Latin-based incantations they used, garbled hissing that she knew to be Parseltongue, and a strange musical language that she couldn't recognise. Eventually, after nearly an hour of drawing, with the magic surrounding Harry getting thicker and thicker, he stepped back and Daphne caught a glimpse of one of the most complicated array of runes she had ever seen – the gasps from the other adults telling her that they found it to be equally impressive – before he waved his hands and the array reordered itself into the standard image of a tree with its branches connected to its roots that Harry used to as a cover for most of his work with runes.

The array began to glow, and Harry's muttering accelerated as the magic around him thickened at an exponential rate over the next few minutes before settling and steadily draining away as the runes started glowing in a brilliant emerald green with hints of gold. The light grew brighter and brighter as the magic around them was drained into it, and still Harry never stopped chanting. Even when the now blinding light faded and they could all open their eyes again, he continued his incantations. Where before there were five objects, there remained only the seed that Kanen had brought with him, however, now it seemed to thrum with a near unstoppable energy as Harry picked it up and walked over to the ornate pot. He didn't even need to do anything as he placed the seed in the bright blue dirt and it seemed to absorb the seed below its surface while the waves of colour seemed to churn across the surface of the pot. An instant later, a small stalk immediately burst out of the dirt and Harry stopped chanting as he nearly collapsed before being caught by Sirius and Remus, while Kanen slumped and leaned into his staff.

"There," Kanen panted. "Were it anybody but you, I'd have killed them myself for putting that much magic into it, but you seem like you'll be able to handle it. The seed will feed off your magic, and judging by the amount you're giving it, should be done within a month or so. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going home. Message me if there's any complication. Just don't send that poor excuse for a turkey. I'm sick of thunder claps making me jump in my own home."

Without another word, Kanen disappeared through the fireplace in a flash of green, and Harry weakly waved his hand, shutting down the connection.

"Well, that was certainly… enlightening," Snape concluded as Remus and Sirius moved Harry over to the couch.

"Perhaps we should come back another time?" Flitwick suggested as Harry fought to regain his breath.

"No," Harry panted, shaking his head. "Umbridge will already be curious as to why the four of you were meeting with me. I doubt she'll allow it to happen again."

"Harry, not even the Headmaster has that much control," McGonagall said softly.

"She will," Remus informed them. "Fudge has passed a new Educational Decree that's going to give her sweeping new powers within the school. The only two people she won't be able to affect are Dumbledore, and Harry, due to his ownership of the school itself."

"Alright, well, let's get this over with so that you can get some rest," Sprout declared, taking a seat in one of the chairs. "What is it you wanted to see us about?"

"I want to teach Defense," Harry said bluntly. "I'll be taking my NEWTs over the holidays, so I'm already qualified to cover the practical aspect of the course for all seven years. More importantly, I want to impart some of the things I've learned to give the students here a better chance at surviving when Riddle ultimately comes back to Britain."

"That's a fantastic idea, Harry." Sirius beamed proudly. "You might be one of the most qualified people here to teach them what they need to know."

"I agree with Sirius," McGonagall said. "However what does that have to do with us?"

"I was hoping you all could spread the word to your respective houses, as well as having Sirius, Remus, and Professors McGonagall, Flitwick, and Snape occasionally stop by to provide some aid. I'm going to open up my office for an extra two hours before dinner for the classes, so that it doesn't interfere with any other classes or the study sessions afterwards."

"I'd be more than happy to come and show the students a thing or two," Flitwick squeaked happily.

The rest of the adults readily agreed with Harry's idea, and the rest of the day passed in a flurry of plans and curriculum-forming. Daphne couldn't be more proud of Harry for stepping up and sticking his neck out to ensure that the students were properly equipped to handle anything outside the walls of the castle. Regardless of the consequences.


	23. Chapter 23

The next afternoon, Harry stood patiently in his office, waiting for the fourth through seventh years to arrive. The Heads of the four Houses had informed their students that Harry was offering help in practical defense, and had reassured him that most of the arguments about his qualifications to be teaching had already been assuaged by the younger years. With the announcement of Umbridge being appointed the Hogwarts High Inquisitor that morning, Harry was more desperate than ever to do something. His efforts on the Board were being blocked by the Fudge and the remaining fifty percent of the school being under his jurisdiction, and the rest of the Professors were now unable to do anything without the risk of being sacked. He was curious as to why Dumbledore seemed unwilling to do anything, but didn't give the matter much thought, having learned long ago not to trust the Headmaster to take care of things.

Daphne, Tracey, and Blaise were the first to arrive that afternoon, followed by Neville, Susan, and the Patils. After that, the students started trickling in by the twos and threes. Most of Gryffindor had come, and Harry grinned as Fred and George stood to attention upon entering and saluted him. He pointedly ignored pretty much everyone his age, choosing instead to remain seated at his desk finishing up some notes. The Gryffindors were followed by a number of Hufflepuffs and a handful of Ravenclaws, while the Slytherin attendance was pretty much limited to his friends and a few fourth years who had learned how good of a teacher he was the year before. Once the time came for the class to begin, Harry stood and quietly walked across the office to close the door before returning to the front of the room without a word. By the time he stopped and turned around to address the class, silence had fallen as they all waited for him to speak.

"Right, you all know why you're here," he said. "Umbridge and the Ministry are sabotaging your educations, and in the case of those of you in fifth and seventh year, your immediate futures as well. While we're here, there will be little theory work." Many of the students broke out in grins and started whispering to each other excitedly. "That being said, you will be expected to learn the theory on your own. You have an entire class where your teacher forces you to sit quietly and read, use it. While we're here, I'm going to focus on helping you master the necessary practical skills to pass your exams, drill you on the use of those skills in life-like situations, and make sure you're all properly equipped to handle most situations you're likely to come across out in the real world."

"Great, so more You-Know-Who is back nonsense," one of the sixth years from Ravenclaw said.

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Alright, let's get a few things clear. I couldn't care less whether you believe that I fought him or not. I'm offering my free time to help you all pass your exams because it's part of my job. That being said, if you think that he's the only threat you could possibly run into outside of these halls, then you're woefully naïve, and I can't help you with that. Lastly, anybody who I catch calling him by anything other than his proper name will be docked points." Pulling out the stick his office had provided him that he had transfigured to look like his wand while his staff grew, Harry slashed it through the air, writing the words _I am Lord Voldemort_ in bright green flames. Gasps of fear rolled through the class and he rolled his eyes as he swished his wand across the words, making them rearrange themselves to say _Tom Marvolo Riddle._

"Tom Marvolo Riddle," Harry declared. "That is the birth name of the monster you all fear. He was a half-blood and couldn't stand sharing a name with his Muggle father, so he made himself a new one with the intention of striking fear into the hearts of any that hear it."

"How do you know that?" Terry Boot demanded incredulously. "It sounds pretty farfetched for the most powerful Dark Lord of all time to be a half-blood."

"Are you implying that those who are pure-blood are somehow superior to those who are not?" Luna asked dreamily, not even looking at Terry as she spoke and making Harry smirk and wink in her direction.

Terry's cheeks flushed in embarrassment as every eye turned on him. "N-no! It's just that… all of his followers –"

"Let me tell you something about pureblood rhetoric," Harry interrupted. "It's built on a lie. Every ancient pureblood family can be drawn back to someone who was Muggle-born. How do you think the family started? Riddle hates Muggles because he was born to one. He felt that having magic made him superior to others, and thus hated anything that reminded him that he was just as human as the rest of us."

"You still never said how you know any of this," Ernie Macmillan called out from his seat with the other Hufflepuffs.

"Because, he told me in my second year," Harry replied. "He was the one behind the Chamber of Secrets opening."

"Bullshit!" Another student yelled.

"It's true." Everyone turned to Ginny, who was sitting hunched over between Fred and George.

"Ginny, you don't have to," Harry said, knowing what she was struggling with saying.

"Yes, I do," Ginny replied, steeling herself and sitting straight up, she looked around the room, meeting everyone's eyes. "Riddle left a piece of his sixteen year old self inside of a diary. I found the diary and it possessed me to open the Chamber and set the basilisk loose on the school."

"There's a basilisk under the school!?" Lavender shrieked fearfully.

"Not anymore," Harry reassured her. "It's been taken care of."

"What do you mean by that?" Seamus asked incredulously.

"Harry killed it," Ginny replied quietly, finally having lost her nerve and shrinking into the embrace of her big brothers.

Shouts of disbelief rose through the room until Ron quieted them down. "Oi! Anymore shouting and I'll start handing out detentions myself! What Ginny said was true. How do you think Harry and I got those awards for special services to the school?"

"How'd you kill it?" Dean asked, awestruck.

"With Gryffindor's sword," Harry replied, jerking his thumb to the sword hanging above his mantelpiece. "I know you all want to hear a story, but we're not here for that. Now, everybody follow me." He led them through a door that had just appeared and smirked when murmurs started to circulate through the crowd as they took in the training room he had designed before they arrived. It was the size of a large gymnasium, with different areas set up for different types of training. Each area had been covered in wards to protect the students against stray spell fire.

"Now, for our first lesson, I'm going to need to get an idea of your abilities. You're all going to be dueling, so pair up with someone outside your House." He noticed several devious looks on a few of the students' faces and hurried to nip that disaster in the bud. "Before any of you get any ideas, the punishment for unsafe behaviour is a duel against me – and I'm not known for holding back." As he said this he flexed his magic slightly, and a wave of pressure ran over the students causing most of them to gulp nervously and nod until a Gryffindor he guessed was in sixth year with a large frame and wiry hair stepped forward.

"No offence, Potter, but you've been acting like you have anything you actually _could_ teach us," the boy said arrogantly. "You should issue something that would act as a little more of a deterrent if you want to get to your point across."

"What's your name?" Harry asked calmly.

"Cormac McLaggen," the boy replied, puffing his chest out. "I got an E on my defence OWL last year, so I think I would know what I'm talking about."

"Alright, McLaggen," Harry said. "Why don't you put your wand where your mouth is? Beat me in a duel and I'll award Gryffindor a hundred and fifty points."

McLaggen took the bait easily and followed Harry to one of the small dueling arenas Harry had set up across the room. Drawing his fake wand, he watched as Cormac pulled out his own, and returned his bow. Cormac shouted and fired a fairly weak stunner that Harry swatted aside. He stood there for a few more moments, not even bothering to shield or dodge as Cormac hurled a flurry of spells, most of them stunners and disarming spells. Cormac's face was going purple from all of his shouting, when Harry finally heaved a dramatic sigh of boredom and waved his stick, transfiguring Cormac's watch into a solid copper sphere around his hand, before shooting a weak lightning bolt at him that phased through his shield with only the slightest of ripples, and made him fly across the arena, landing softly thanks to the cushioning charms before being stunned and wrapped in conjured ropes.

"Wow, didn't see that coming," Tracey muttered sarcastically, making Harry smile as he revived McLaggen – neglecting to get rid of the ropes or metal sphere around his hand – and addressed the students.

"Right, can anyone tell me what I did wrong?" He asked, watching as awe turned to confusion. "Anyone?" He repeated after about a minute of the only sound being McLaggen struggling to free himself from his binds.

"You toyed with him," Luna said. "I've seen you fight before, if you wanted to, you would have beaten him before his first spell even got near you."

"That's correct, Lovegood," Harry replied with a smile. "Five points to Ravenclaw. Toying with an opponent is not only dishonourable in most cases, but is also inviting your opponent to take advantage of the many openings you will undoubtedly give them for the sake of humiliating them. Can anyone tell me what other mistakes you saw?"

"You never disarmed him," Fred added. "He's still got his wand, so he could easily get out of those bindings once he woke up from being stunned."

McLaggen seemed to finally realise that as well, and finally managed to free himself and join the other students, glaring darkly at Harry the entire time.

"Also correct. Five points to Gryffindor. Always make sure your opponent is without means of fighting back before assuming you're the victor. You're all still missing one thing, though."

"You bowed to him," Daphne said quietly, her cool demeanor protecting her from the many incredulous and angry stares.

"Typical Slytherin," Seamus hissed. "You'd gut us just for trying to show a hint of respect."

"That'll be ten points from Gryffindor for your own inability to show a hint of respect, Finnigan," Harry cut in. "And five points to Slytherin for a correct answer." Gasps of disbelief echoed through the crowd and Harry had only to flex his magic once more to quiet them down. Especially considering Hermione had just opened her mouth to protest. "With the exception of dueling in an official tournament, if you bow to your opponent and expect them not to take advantage of you being off guard, you deserve to be beaten. Showing a formidable opponent respect is commendable, and a testament to your character, but that doesn't mean you sacrifice your safety before someone who might not be as honourable as you. In this class, the duel begins the moment you both enter the arena, and only ends the moment one of you is unable to continue. Now, there's a lot of you, so sixth and seventh years will go first while fourth and fifth will follow me over to the other side of the room." He led the younger half of the class away from the sixth and seventh years over to line of targets with small blackboards overtop of them. "While the others show their ability in a duel, you all will show me what you remember of your previous classes. These targets are enchanted so that the blackboards will record the different spells it with. You are all to start with every spell you can remember from your first year courses before moving on to second year and so on. When you have gone through every spell you can remember, either add ones from your personal or help anyone who's struggling. Once the others are done, you'll switch, and I'll use the data gathered to rank you. Think of it like a little competition. The top five who end the term the highest will be rewarded with house points and I'll personally teach you any one thing within reason."

Harry smirked as he saw many eyes light up at the idea of being taught something advanced that the others wouldn't know. Walking back to the older students, he explained the same thing to them before adding one more addendum. "Don't think you'll be able to outclass the younger students so easily. After today, any spellwork you all do must be silent, or you lose house points, and trust me, I'll know if you cheat."

The next two hours passed in a flurry of spell casting as the students dueled each other under Harry's supervision. By the time dinner rolled around, the students were dragging themselves out of his classroom, leaving only Harry, his friends, and, strangely enough, Cho Chang. Harry waved the others off – though he could tell Daphne had decided to wait for him, making him grin at her thoughtfulness – and turned to Cho.

"There something I can help you with, Cho?" He asked.

"I just wanted to say how good of a job you did today," Cho replied as she took a step towards him. "I can tell that we're going to learn loads from you."

"Thank you," Harry replied awkwardly as she took another step forward. "It'll be tough but I think you all can do quite well on your exams, based on what I've seen today."

"Maybe you can give me some extra help?" Cho suggested, her voice somewhat breathy as she took another step towards him.

"Sure," Harry replied. He could feel Daphne being annoyed by something, and was sincerely hoping Malfoy or Umbridge hadn't picked that exact moment to accost her. "My office is always open after dinner for any student who needs help."

Cho's shoulders drooped slightly, and her face hardened. "Right," she said coolly. "Well, I'll see you later, Harry."

"Bye, Cho," Harry replied. He turned around as she seemed to stomp out of his classroom and closed his eyes to focus on turning the two rooms back into his usual office. Once he was done, he opened them to see Daphne standing there, and grinned as she stepped up and wrapped her arms around him tightly. "Guess this room really does give my anything I can think of," he quipped, engulfing her in his larger frame and burying his nose in her hair.

"You're an idiot," Daphne murmured against his chest as he started purring gently.

"And you're a bloody menace. What else is new?"

"Just shut up and walk me down to dinner, will you?"

"Sure thing, Sunshine." Harry smiled and gave Daphne one last squeeze before letting go, only to be surprised when she didn't let go of his arm and rested her head against his shoulder.

"It's drafty, and you're always warm," she said, not meeting his eye.

Harry shrugged and went with it. He did run hotter than most, having to usually dispense with his robes and tie, unbutton the first two or three buttons of his shirt, and roll up his sleeves by the end of the day as he walked around his office. It was probably why he didn't feel as cold as Daphne. Plus, he wasn't about to look a gift horse in the mouth when provided with an excuse to keep holding his favourite person so close to him. It made Nightfire shiver with content and several times he had to quickly force down rather inappropriate impulses as they walked down the mostly empty hallways.

After dinner, Harry went back to his office and sat down to pen a letter that he hoped would provide him with some more answers to the mysteries surrounding all of his titles while his students worked quietly.

 _Dear Mr. and Mrs. Flamel,_

 _I don't know if this letter will reach you. Odds are, if two people such as yourselves don't want to be found, you won't be. In fact, I don't even know if you're still alive to receive this either. Professor Dumbledore told me that you had enough Elixir to last long enough to get your affairs in order, however, not only do I not know how long that could take for two people who have lived for centuries, but I've also found Albus Dumbledore to not be altogether trustworthy, so it's worth a shot._

 _My name is Harry Potter. While I'm not happy about it, odds are you know who I am. To begin, I am sorry that the Philosopher's Stone was destroyed. While I'm happy that Voldemort didn't have a chance to use it, the fact that he has returned to power anyway fills me with regret. Voldemort may be powerful, but between you two and Dumbledore, I don't doubt you could have found a way to protect it so that a trio of eleven year olds can't get to it. Granted, I understand the logic of removing something so dangerous should it fall into the wrong hands, but I can't help but think that the potential good it could do in the medical field alone would have been worth at least trying to place it under better security._

 _That aside, I am writing to you because I found out a little over two years ago that I was, somehow, the newest Lord of the Most Ancient and Noble House of Flamel, alongside the Most Ancient and Noble Houses of Peverell, and the Ancient and Noble Houses of Gryffindor and Slytherin. These came as a shock to me, who hadn't even learned that I was a wizard until my eleventh birthday when Rubeus Hagrid broke down the door and took me away from my relatives. I find myself often feeling like I am out of the loop when it comes to certain aspects of the magical world, but with the help of a few friends, I have been able to firmly establish myself. Some of these friends are goblins working in the London branch of Gringotts, and, while they have been able to find the connection between me and many of the titles I have had thrust upon me, they were unable to find a biological link between myself and the two of you. We have done several different tests to see if there was a mistake, but every time, the results are the same. This, of course, raises the question of how I could possibly be the Lord to the Most Ancient and Noble House of Flamel if I am in no way related to it._

 _If this letter somehow does find its way to you, I would very much appreciate if you could, first of all, properly congratulate my owl, Hedwig. She has been a constant companion of mine throughout the years, staying by my side when I went through things nobody should have to, and clearly would deserve nothing less than a day or two of complete relaxation after somehow managing to find you both. Secondly, while I consider it a great honour to bear the title of lord of your house, I would very much like to know how I came by it. Lastly, while I'm not sure whether you'll believe me or not, I implore upon you both to be wary of Albus Dumbledore. Over the last few years, there have been several instances that have made me question his motives and decisions+. If you need any proof, simply send a letter to Griphook at the London Gringotts Branch and he will provide it._

 _With Hope,_

 _Lord Harry James of the Houses Flamel Peverell Gryffindor Slytherin Potter_

Sealing the letter with his signet rings, Harry cast all sorts of enchantments on both the letter and Hedwig herself before calling her over. He tied the letter to her leg and stroked her feathers, placing a soft kiss on her forehead as he stood and walked over to the window. Opening the window, Harry couldn't help but smile as Hedwig puffed out her chest proudly, declaring that he could rely on her, before letting out a soft, crooning hoot, nipping him affectionately, and taking off into the night air.

He watched her fly until she was over the horizon and turned to get back to helping his students when there was a knock on his door. He crossed the room and opened the door to see Severus standing there, and had to work fairly hard to restrain a smirk as he noticed several of his students stiffen in fear. It was rare for Severus to ever leave the dungeons, but to have what many thought to be the most terrifying teacher in the school cross all the way up to see Harry, someone most people thought Severus still despised, was almost as surreal as seeing Harry politely invite him inside. The various privacy charms around the room kept the students from hearing whatever they would discuss, so Harry led him back over to the window where the ornate pot filled with electric blue soil sat with Zephyr perched just nearby.

"What can I do for you, Severus?" Harry asked as he kneeled down next to the small grey stalk growing out of the soil and pushed the palm of his hand into the top until it pierced his skin.

Severus watched as the stalk stabbed into Harry's palm and blood started flowing down its length. The stalk itself was about six inches tall, and made of a gnarled grey wood. The top of the stalk was thicker than the rest, like some sort of wooden plant bulb. Harry's blood poured down the length of the stalk, collecting in rivulets and seeping through the small twisting knots as it ran down the length of the plant and into the soil. As soon as his blood reached the soil, Harry removed his hand and healed his hand before muttering a long incantation in Parseltongue. Whatever spell he was casting, it made tiny runes appear all over the stalk and glow. Severus recognised a few of the Alchemical runes, but was unable to decipher the rest due to them being written in what he guessed was the Parseltongue equivalent of runes, judging by their similarity to the written Parseltongue in some of the books Harry had translated for him that had been stored in the Chamber of Secrets.

The runes glowed a soft gold that shifted into a warm crimson colour as the blood seeped into the stalk and the soil below, vanishing without a trace, as the stalk visibly grew about an inch or two.

"I happened to stumble across a boggart in my one of my storerooms," Severus replied after Harry had stood up and looked at him expectantly. "I wanted to know if you would like to use it in your class tomorrow."

"I'd be happy to," Harry replied. "I think having them face their fears might be a good idea. We'll just have to make sure to take a few more precautions then Moony did when he tried it."

"I'll have Filch bring it up," Severus replied. "Have you been confronted by Umbridge yet?"

"Not yet," Harry said. "I don't like it."

"Be wary, she may not be able to hurt you directly, but there are a number of things she could still do to make your life more difficult," Severus advised.

"I will," Harry replied gratefully. "Thank you."

Severus nodded and turned to stalk out of the room, glaring at a few of the students while his robes billowed behind him dramatically.

*(OoO)*

The next day, Harry was setting up his classroom when Sirius and Remus joined him.

"Afternoon, cub, how're things?" Sirius said as he started to inspect Harry's office. Since his plans were being changed by the inclusion of the boggart, Harry had left his office as is.

"Alright," Harry replied. "You two here to help?"

"That's correct," Remus said, looking around the room and noticing a small chest shaking on the ground. "Is that what I think it is?"

"If you think it's a boggart, then yes."

"I would have thought that after the fiasco that was your last time with a boggart, you would be against using one in a lesson. Especially considering the fact that you're teaching first through third years all at once," Remus said, walking over and swatting Sirius as he reached out to try and touch Harry's staff.

"There was nothing wrong with the idea of having the students face their fears," Harry explained, smirking as Sirius pouted at Remus. "The problem was that you were forcing kids to face their deepest, darkest fears in front of everyone, including a handful of bullies who would gladly use it against them."

"I see what you mean," Remus replied with a touch of shame.

"That being said," Harry continued, "it being in front of the class adds more laughter and happiness to the atmosphere, making it easier for them to cast the spell. That's why, you have to have a contingency in place."

At that moment, the first of the students came pouring in. These students were far more enthusiastic to be taught by Harry, as he had already been helping them all for a while now, and they knew he would be capable of being a far better teacher than Umbridge could ever hope to be.

Harry greeted them warmly, smiling at the anticipation and excitement on their faces. "Afternoon class. First, before we begin, I'd like to introduce you all to Sirius Black, and Remus Lupin. They'll be stopping by on occasion to lend a hand." Remus and Sirius grinned as the class turned their attention on them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," Remus said. "Some of you older students may remember that I was the Defence Professor here two years ago. It's a pleasure to be able to come and help teach you all again."

Many of the third years grinned and welcomed Remus back with enthusiasm before regarding Sirius warily.

"Hey there," Sirius said with a casual wave. "I know a lot of you have probably heard some unsavory things about me over the years, but I assure you, none of it is true."

"Apart from the bit about him having fleas," Harry cut in, making many of the students giggle and breaking some of the tension.

"Anyways," Sirius said dramatically. "I work on occasion as a sort of freelance auror that the DMLE calls in when they need an extra hand, so I know a thing or two about defense as well."

"Now," Harry announced, drawing the attention back to him. "We were going to start with an assessment of your skills, but instead, I've got a little treat. Can anyone tell me what a boggart is?"

The lectured went fantastically, and Harry went on to instruct them on lining up behind him as he showed them what to do. "Now, before anyone gets any ideas about making fun of someone for what their boggart turns into, remember that you're _all_ going to be facing it. Which means that everyone will know everyone else's fear. On top of that, if I do end up hearing so much as a whisper about a prank or teasing joke involving what we see today, you won't enjoy the consequences. Are we clear?"

The whole class responded with an obedient "Yes Professor," and Harry smiled as he opened the chest and watched as Daphne crawled out. Before the fake Daphne even got a chance to say a word, Harry pointed his transfigured stick at it and cast the spell.

Suddenly, Daphne stumbled as her robes were transformed into a pink one-piece bathing suit, covered with white polka dots and frills. Around her waist was a massive inflatable ring with a duck head sprouting out of it while big, green water wings appeared around her upper arms and her shoes transformed into hilariously oversized flippers. Her face was suddenly covered by a snorkel and giant goggles, and her hair had all bunched up underneath a bright pink shower cap.

Laughter erupted throughout the class, and Harry grinned as he stepped out of the way. "What?" He asked as Sirius and Remus gave him a look. "Have you ever seen Daphne when she's mad? It's bloody scary."

He knew neither man believed what he was saying, but it was enough to get them to drop it as they both chuckled while the first student, a first year who had clearly been sorted into the right house when put in Gryffindor, managed to transform a particularly haunting clown into an overweight man in a tutu. Student after student went by until, after about thirty minutes, Astoria's turn was next. Harry was expecting to see Astoria's father, similarly to when Daphne had faced the boggart, but was surprised when the boggart transformed into a tall, skeletal man in that flowed around him like smoke. His red, cat-like eyes glared balefully across the now deathly silent class, while his flat reptilian nostrils flared in anger.

"Look at you," he hissed. His high, cold voice freezing the air. "So weak. I grow stronger every day, while you all deny my return. You sneak around your own ministry so that you may learn to protect yourself… but it's not enough. It will never be enough."

Even Sirius and Remus seemed frozen in place as the pseudo-Voldemort flexed his magic and raised his wand. The amount of raw, primal terror filling the room was a veritable buffet to the boggart, and it was steadily getting more and more powerful as it gorged itself on the horror that the entire class was feeling at seeing the Dark Lord. Harry chose that time to step in, and stared blankly at the boggart, mental shields in full force so that it was forced to remain in that form as it glared at Harry. Harry merely smirked and wrapped his arm around the quivering Astoria's shoulders.

"You really think you can scare us in that form?" Harry asked firmly. "Even if Riddle were really here, I've got a classroom full of some of the most powerful wizards and witches you'll ever see. You don't even have a nose!"

At first it only seemed that Harry's taunting was making matters worse as the fake Riddle snarled and hissed in anger.

"How dare you –"

"What are you going to do, Riddle?" Harry demanded. "Hiss like a garter snake with a lisp?"

The fake Voldemort's face contorted with apoplectic fury and raised his wand to curse Harry, only to freeze in place as the smallest of giggles rang through the air. Harry grinned down at Astoria, who was giggling at his jeering taunts, while Sirius and Remus finally broke out of their own fearful stupors as they caught on to what Harry was doing and allowed their Marauder roots to show.

"Oi, Snakeface!" Sirius shouted. "Why don't you just slither on back to whatever dark corner you came from and leave us alone?"

"What kind of person appoints himself a lordship anyways?" Remus added.

Within seconds the classroom devolved into a loud chorus of laughing and jeering as the students joined in one by one, each throwing their own schoolyard insults at the boggart and forcing it back with the power of their laughter.

"Astoria," Harry said, kneeling down and looking her in the eye. "Would you like the honour of finishing this poor excuse for a boogeyman off?"

Astoria nodded and grinned pointing her wand at the boggart. " _Ridikulus!"_ She shouted. Instantly, the boggart's robes disappeared and Harry was cursed with the gruesome sight of Lord Voldemort in a giant diaper, with a bonnet wrapped around his head and large bottle in place of a wand. The boggart shrieked and cried and the students' laughter rose to a fever pitch. Sirius was even rolling around on the ground, howling. The boggart looked over the laughing faces, and couldn't detect even a hint of fear. The sheer joy it was being assaulted with was like acid and it hissed angrily before finally vanishing with a pop and a puff of smoke. With the boggart gone, the laughter eventually died down and Harry grinned widely as he stepped forward and addressed the class.

"That was fantastic!" He called out happily. "Not only did you all face your fears, but when the boggart took the opportunity to change into a form that made even those two nitwits nearly soil themselves," he pointed over at Remus and Sirius who were scowling playfully, "you all came together and over powered the boggart with so much laughter and joy, that it couldn't sustain itself, and was destroyed. You all looked a man whom your parents and the Ministry are afraid to even call by name in the eye, and you showed him that he has no power over you here. I couldn't be more proud."

After that, Harry took them through the same exercises that he had with the older class to measure their abilities, and with the help of Sirius and Remus, they got through everyone by the time class came to an end.

"That was quite the thing you did there, Harry," Remus said. "Rather than simply forcing the boggart to change, like I had, you actually helped your students conquer their fear. Given some time, I wouldn't be surprised if you ended being one of the greatest professors this school has ever seen."

"Not to mention it was bloody brilliant seeing you fearlessly walk up to Voldemort and make fun of him, rather than just hearing it over a communicator rune," Sirius added. "Even if it was just a boggart."

"Especially with him back, I think it's more important than ever to start dispensing with some of the terror he inspires," Harry said resolutely. "Yes he's evil and powerful, but if people are too afraid to even say his name, then they make it all the easier for him to just stroll in and seize power."

"I couldn't agree more, Harry," Remus replied proudly. "It was an honour and a joy helping you teach. Hopefully we can come back and do it again soon."

"I look forward to it," Harry said as he embraced both men. He watched as they left through his fireplace and smiled as he turned to go join his friends for dinner once more. As he sealed up his office, he couldn't help but wonder what kind of rumors were bound to start spreading around based on this class, and what the different reactions would be.


	24. Chapter 24

She shivered as she apparated in Hogsmeade. She could see Hogwarts in the distance and smiled. It was there where she would find him. It had been nearly a year since she had woken up, and now she was finally prepared to see him. It had taken her a while to simply adjust. Once she had found a newspaper and read the slander written therein, though, she knew that she had to make preparations. She couldn't quite understand how she had found herself where she was, but she had several theories.

It nearly broke her heart that she couldn't go to him right away, especially after so long, but it wouldn't do to allow Dumbledore to play this to his advantage. She had to be smart. Make preparations. On top of that, she still had to figure out how to properly reveal herself without getting hexed into oblivion. No. She would take her time to firmly establish herself. Double and triple check all of her preparations. Hopefully Aberforth would believe her and provide her with a bed and some work while she prepared. It nearly made her weep with grief, but he had waited this long – he could wait a little bit longer.

*(OoO)*

The rest of the week, Harry drilled the classes on what they knew so as to get a decent idea of their abilities. Friday was particularly hectic as he posted the first set of rankings. He was currently with the older students – the importance of the OWLs and NEWTs meant that they had three sessions with him a week as opposed to the younger students – and there was no small degree of outrage at how the rankings were spread out.

"Lovegood?!" Hermione screeched. "How did _she_ get top spot? I know for a fact that I performed more spells than anyone else in the class."

For once the older years seemed to agree with Hermione, and it was starting to look like Harry would have a riot on his hands if he didn't do anything. Meanwhile Luna was being uncharacteristically reserved, standing silently in the back with Olivia and picking at the brightly coloured gloves she had taken to wearing recently.

"That's enough!" He shouted, flexing his magic to emphasise his point. "This little system of rankings is meant to inspire you all to push yourselves to do your best, _not_ whine and scream like little children. Firstly, as I've already told you all, the rankings are scaled to your year. A seventh year may be more skilled than a fourth year, but if you're below the standard for your year, you won't rank as well. That being said, Granger, while you did perform the most spells out of everyone. All of your spells were average at best. Lovegood may have only performed the spells she learned in her classes, but she not only performed them all perfectly, there were even a couple she managed to cast silently. That's more than can be said for many of you in different years. If you're unhappy about where you stand in the rankings, then do better and you'll rise up. If I hear anymore whining or complaining, I'll start docking points."

After that, Harry split them all up into two groups once more and set them all to work on mastering the stunning spell while the other half practiced dueling. As he had promised, he easily caught the students who were cheating on their nonverbal spellcasting as every time someone tried to mutter a spell, a loud gong would go off and the blackboard on which all the names and ranks were written would add a tick next to the perpetrator's name. After an hour, the two groups switched places and Harry would start circulating between the older students, providing tips on how to better cast their spells nonverbally.

"Try casting it verbally," Harry advised. "When you do, focus on how the magic feels at the moment that it leaves your wand. Once you've got an idea of how the magic should feel, focus on what exactly it is you want the magic to do. After you've figured those two out, imagine the magic flowing out of you, doing exactly what you want it to."

After that, some of the seventh years started to actually be able to do it, and would then turn to help their friends while Harry went over to supervise the younger group's duels. He walked between the various arenas set up on the floor, occasionally offering advice or encouragement, other times he would shout out potential distractions to test his students. Before long, the class was over, and many of the students were leaving in significantly better moods than when they first arrived.

That night he was sitting on his couch after having given his staff the requisite blood for the night and reading a book on Mentalists while Daphne curled up next to him reading her Potions textbook and the rest of his friends spread out around the office. Curfew had already passed, but they all wanted to get their homework done early so that they could have the weekend to themselves. As such, Harry had offered to let them stay in his office for the night, as it would provide them with everything they needed, so long as they didn't rat him out the next day. He would occasionally offer his help for one of the many essays they had all been assigned, but was left alone to read for the most part.

Among the many latent abilities that had been awoken within him when that werewolf had attacked, Mentalism was the most complex. It seemed that both Occlumency and Legillimency were developed from horribly invasive study of Mentalists and their abilities before they simply disappeared.

"Haven't you already read that one?" Daphne asked as she shifted against him.

"Yeah, but I've been having some weird dreams lately, and I think they might be linked to something I read in this book before," Harry replied. Everyone in the room immediately stiffened at the mention of his dreams and Harry put down the book to reassure them. "It's not what you're thinking. Riddle hasn't affected me since Tipsy and Zephyr saved me that night."

"So, what is it that you're dreaming about?" Padma asked.

"I'm not too sure," Harry said. "I never really see anything. Instead, it feels like there's someone calling out to me. I can hear a little girl crying, and I can tell she's scared."

"What does that have to do with what you're reading?" Parvati inquired.

"Among the other things that happened as a result of the attack after second year, I discovered a few hidden talents that had been awakened. One of them was that I was something called a Mentalist."

"What's a Mentalist?" Neville asked.

"It's someone whose mind is attuned to practicing the mental arts," Harry explained, smiling as he felt a warmth come through his bond with Daphne. She was always proud of him whenever he was able to open up. "Obviously there's Occlumency and Legillimency, but for a Mentalist, their abilities go beyond what ordinary wizards and witches can do with those two arts."

"So, you think you're hearing someone else's thoughts or something?" Tracey concluded.

Harry nodded. "There's a type of Mentalist that this book calls a Beacon. It's a person whose mind is far more open than usual. It allows them to pick up on strong feelings and thoughts over massive distances. It's why Severus drills me so hard in Occlumency as well, since that means that my mind would be much more open to invasion as well."

"How would he know whether you're one of these Beacons or not?" Blaise asked.

"Besides the fact that he's one of the most accomplished Occlumens in the world?" Harry replied. "He's the one that provided me with these books when he learned what I was and took a proper look at my mind."

They were interrupted by frantic knocking on the door and Harry closed his grimoire and fished the map out of his pocket, tapping it with his wand.

"Who is it?" Daphne asked once he flipped to the hallway outside his office.

"It's Tori," Harry replied. "She's with Luna and Olivia."

"What are they doing here at this hour?"

Harry stood up and opened the door to see a furious Astoria who stomped into his office while Olivia looked close to tears and Luna stared off dreamily into the corner of Harry's office – though he could see fear behind the façade.

"Girls," he greeted as Olivia dragged Luna into the office and shut the door behind them. "What are you doing out of bed?"

"Well, are you gonna tell him, or should I?" Astoria demanded as she crossed her arms and glared at Luna and Olivia.

"Tell me what?" Harry asked, noting how Luna had now dropped her dreamy mask and was intently studying the floor. "What's going on?"

"Luna's had detention with Umbridge," Olivia began hesitantly, ignoring the pleading look in Luna's eyes. "She disapproves of the way Luna sees things."

"I don't see why we need to come here, Olive," Luna said shakily. "I've dealt with people who have laughed about me for years now, this is no different."

"Bullshit it's not different!" Astoria exclaimed.

"Tori!" Daphne admonished.

"That… _woman_ is punishing Luna because she's a friend of Harry's and has the gall to look at the world differently!" Tori cried. "She's turned Luna into her own personal scapegoat!"

"Luna, have you ever made mention of Riddle being back?" Harry asked.

"I may have mentioned to Olive that my father believed you in front of her," Luna replied vaguely as she took a seat on the couch. "But _The Quibbler_ has always endeavored to spread the truth, no matter the cost. Having to write lines is a small price to pay."

Harry kneeled down in front of Luna and put a hand on her shoulder. "Luna, is this why you've been avoiding me recently?"

"I didn't want my Wrackspurts to infect you," Luna mumbled.

Harry smiled and pulled Luna into a hug. "You don't need to protect me from the Wrackspurts, Luna. Remember, we already found out last year that talking to me helps get rid of them."

He and Luna sat there for a moment before a sniffle broke the silence and Luna buried her face in Harry's shoulder.

"I-It hurts so much…" Luna whimpered. "I have to wear the gloves so no one sees, but they sting so much when they rub against it."

"Can I see them?" Harry asked softly, holding her close. Daphne watched as Luna nodded and Harry reached up to pull the vibrantly coloured gloves off her hand, and nearly gagged as the stench of blood and puss hit her nose while everyone else in the room gasped. No one else in the room but her could see, but when Harry pulled off the gloves and saw the words _I must not tell lies_ etched into the back of both of Luna's hands, a crushing weight slammed down in the room. Harry's rage was so palpable that even Daphne was starting to feel it, while everyone else was shaking under the unrestrained weight of the magic crashing out of him. The only one unaffected was Luna, whom Daphne could see Harry's magic was wrapping around her comfortingly. More and more of the titanic force flooding out of Harry turned towards wrapping around Luna, and Daphne was willing to bet that the force surrounding the girl in his arms at the moment could easily provide protection so great, it would be second only to the one Harry's own mother had supplied him on that terrible night fourteen years ago.

Instantly, Harry called for Tipsy and Dobby to fetch Poppy and Severus, and to tell them to bring Murtlap Essence before ordering everyone but Daphne, Astoria, and Olivia into another room that had appeared moments before.

"This ends tonight, Luna," Harry whispered, stroking his hand comfortingly through Luna's blonde waves as Dobby and Tipsy reappeared with Poppy and Severus. "Professor Snape and Madam Pomfrey will fix your hands up, good as new, okay?"

"Harry, what seems to be the problem?" Poppy asked softly, taking note of the tense atmosphere and how frightened Luna seemed.

"It would seem that Professor Umbridge has a more corporal idea of punishment when it comes to her detentions," Harry explained as he showed them Luna's hands.

Poppy's eyes widened and she gasped in shock while Severus nearly snarled in anger at the idea of a student being treated this way for any reason. They immediately set to work pouring a rather large bowl of Murtlap Essence and instructing Luna to sink her hands into it. Luna whimpered brokenly as the thick sap stung her infected wounds and buried her face back in Harry's shoulder while he and Daphne stroked her back.

"Explain," Severus ordered as he turned to Olivia and Astoria, who both paled beneath his fury. Both girls hurried to give a detailed summary of the last month and half of term and how Umbridge had apparently been picking on Luna since the very beginning – both as a cruel sort of power play, and, they suspected, as a way to get to Harry. This made Harry nearly lose control of his temper, but the presence of Luna in his arms made him stamp it down. Thankfully just as the waves of self-hatred and guilt over provoking Umbridge and, by extension, the Ministry, started to set in, Daphne came to his rescue and sent him waves of comfort to combat the self-deprecating feelings.

Once the girls had been sent into the room where the other students were waiting under orders that they would be sleeping there for the night, Harry allowed his anger to finally manifest as he unleashed a mighty pulse of magic before transforming into Nightfire and unleashing a wall of fire of volcanic proportions. It took Daphne a few minutes to sufficiently calm him and Kyddris –who had been released from his tattoo form once Harry transformed – down, and once she did he turned to Severus and Poppy with a determined fire in his eye.

"Severus, is Dumbledore in the school?"

"No, he's gone to attend a meeting in the Andes."

"Good. Grab the other heads and meet me at her office. I need witnesses there so I don't accidentally commit murder." Severus nodded and Harry summoned Tipsy and Dobby once more to order them to fetch Sirius and Remus. He knew Amelia would undoubtedly be blocked from pressing any charges, but he'd be damned if he didn't put the fear of God, and, more importantly, _himself,_ into whatever passed for a soul in that woman. "Stay with the others," he said as he turned to Daphne. "I don't want Cyrus getting himself involved in this. It would just give him an excuse to get closer to you, Astoria, and Penelope." Without waiting for a reply, he turned towards the door and stormed away, Zephyr flying just behind him. Daphne told the others it was safe to come out, and Kyddris immediately made a beeline for Luna, nuzzling her with his snout. He and Rosie refused to move more than a few feet from Luna at any point for the rest of the night, and Daphne couldn't help but find herself thinking about how Harry had treated Luna. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but as she watched him gently comfort the girl, she couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to see him holding a girl with golden-blonde hair and startlingly green eyes instead of Luna's paler blonde and sky-blue eyes.

Hogwarts herself seemed to agree with Harry's feelings as he stomped towards the Defence Classroom. All of the staircases seemed to rearrange themselves to provide the quickest route possible, and the torches along that path all flared much brighter than the others. Though he wasn't aware of it, almost every other person inside the castle's walls could feel a strange power settle through the air. It was the feeling of someone standing up for one who could not stand up for themselves. The following morning, many would remember never feeling more comfortable and safe within the castle walls, while select others would spend the night tossing and turning beneath a heavy sense of dread.

The door to Dolores Umbridge's office blew off its hinges as Harry stormed in. Outside the door, he could sense all four House Heads waiting just out of sight. They knew that Umbridge would be more likely to drop her guard if she thought it was just Harry she was dealing with. He nearly smirked at the way she jumped in fright before composing herself.

"Well, it would seem that the reports on your stability have more than a modicum of truth after all," Umbridge observed.

This time, Harry did smirk. She may be good, but he was taught by a snarky goblin, a mistreated godfather, a spy, and the head of the DMLE. "The implication being that the reports of my mental stability were questionable beforehand?"

"I think we both know the answer to that question."

"How about a different question, then?"

Umbridge raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Finally realised that teaching Defence is not as easy as it seems? I'd be happy to accept your apology, Mister Potter."

"Now, why would I apologise for doing my job?" Harry replied. "The students are worried about passing their OWLs and NEWTs, I simply offered to provide them a little extra tutoring."

"And what would you know about the _Ministry Standard_ tests?" Umbridge asked. "Let alone what one would need to know to pass them."

Harry's smirk grew. "My, Dolores, you're certainly out of the loop, aren't you?"

"What are you talking about?" Umbridge demanded, her eyes narrowed.

"I would have thought it would be obvious," Harry replied, delighting in the twitch developing under her eye. "I've already passed my OWLs."

"More lies, Mister Potter," Umbridge tittered. "Whenever will you learn? You know, one of my students is like you. Always spouting lies. Unlike you, however, who seems determined to be a lost cause, she can still be reined in."

Harry didn't bother to squash the anger that rose from her bringing up of Luna. Instead, he directed the emotion into fueling his mind. "You can contact the Department of Education yourself, Dolores, if you don't believe my claims. However, we both know you already did that before getting here. Which would mean that not only are we both equally qualified, it would seem we're both liars as well."

Umbridge scowled at that and looked around, as if to make sure no one was listening. "You and I will never be equals," she hissed. "I may not be able to touch you or your little slut in Slytherin, but that doesn't mean that I can't punish your other friends as well as that nutty little girl. I would tread very carefully if I were you, Potter. I have the full force of the Ministry behind me."

"I guess there are some differences between us," Harry admitted with a shrug. "For example, where I got nothing lower than an E on my OWLs, you got nothing higher than an A. On top of that, you may have the Ministry behind you, but I don't see any aurors here right now, do you?"

Umbridge paled as Harry took a step towards her. "Y-y-you can't do anything here!" She stuttered. "I'm the Senior Undersecretary to the Minister for Magic!"

"And what would the Minister say when word gets out that you've been torturing students with the Dark Arts?" Harry asked as he loomed over Umbridge. He flat out grinned as she tried to raise her wand on him. "That looks awfully like you threatening not just a fellow staff member, but a Lord of the Wizengamot, Dolores. Tell me, are you really willing to try dueling a boy with too much power and an uncontrollable temper? No one knows what could happen."

" _Crucio!"_ Umbridge yelped and a brownish red light slammed into Harry's chest.

Harry snarled in pain as his nerves caught fire, but remained standing. Compared to the grazing hit he had taken the year before, this was much more manageable. With a wave of his hand, he sent her wand clattering across the room, and lifted her by the collar with the other, pinning her against the wall.

"I'm going to say this once," Harry growled, his pupils elongating into cat-like slits as he got nose to nose with her. "Lay a finger on my students ever again, and not even Fudge will save you. Clear?"

Umbridge nodded fearfully, and Harry snarled dropping her as he turned and stormed out of her office, repairing the door on his way out. He walked clear past the Heads into the hall where he finally pulsed his magic, breaking through the curse and collapsed into Severus' arms.

"Not a word to anyone of what happened today," Harry panted. "We just got her put under control. Students are safe. Can't risk the Ministry interfering more now that we have leverage."

All four Heads looked supremely unhappy, but they agreed nonetheless. All four of them had been prepared to witness a murder when they had heard what happened. Instead they were agreeing to keep silent about witnessing a different crime, just so that the victim could get them enough leverage to properly protect their students from the Ministry and its delusions.

Any further lingering doubts about Harry Potter being assigned by Hogwarts herself to help the students were immediately washed away. Meanwhile, Albus Dumbledore was just returning from a meeting with a coven in the Andes, when a strange feeling of dread settled over him.


	25. Chapter 25

Ever since their little meeting, Harry had never heard even a whisper of students being hurt in Umbridge's detentions. The other Heads had dropped hints to Umbridge that they were well aware of what she had done, and the idea of going against them, as well as Harry, kept her in line. To compensate for the lack of cruelty in her punishments, Umbridge decided to increase their quantity. Any student that attended Harry's classes would find themselves in detention so often that the Heads had to step in once more when both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff Quidditch teams were lacking several members on the day of their first match. Rather than act as a deterrent, though, Harry found attendance in his class increasing, and more and more students were approaching it with a vigor few had ever seen before.

About two weeks after his confrontation with Umbridge, Harry was curled up as Nightfire with Daphne as they sat through the full moon. Remus hadn't been able to attend, but Sirius had reassured Harry that he would transform and spend the night with his old friend, leaving just Nightfire and Daphne curled up on the ground with Kyddris and Rosie while Severus and Minerva were visiting as they normally did during the full moon until Harry succumbed to his bestial half. They were about to leave when a rapping on the window caught all of their attentions. Perched on the windowsill was a very weary Hedwig, and Minerva stood up to open the window, letting her in. Nightfire rose and loped over to nuzzle Hedwig affectionately while Daphne grabbed the letter she was carrying.

"I guess it would seem the Flamels are still alive after all," Severus remarked as Daphne showed him the seal on the letter.

"What do you mean, Severus?" Minerva asked.

"Harry sent a letter to them in the hope that they would still be alive," Severus replied. "He was hoping they would give him some answers as to why he was named lord of their family when there is no biological link between him and Nicholas Flamel."

"I suppose we'll have to wait until tomorrow to inquire as to what's inside," Minerva sighed.

"If he'll even tell us," Severus added. "Even now, he's a very private person."

"He will," Daphne assured them. "You two were the first authority figures Harry found he could trust. He adores you both the same way he does Sirius and Remus."

"That's very kind of you, Miss Greengrass," Minerva said happily. "If that's the case, I think we'll leave you two to retire for the night."

Severus nodded as well, fighting to appear unaffected, and quickly followed Minerva out the door while Daphne merely sighed and dropped down against Nightfire. She smiled as a blanket of affection came through their bond and Nightfire licked her cheek with his huge, sandpaper tongue. He was quite a bit bigger than when she had first seen him nearly two years ago, easily dwarfing her as he curled up around her and draped a dark wing over most of her body.

"Why can't you be this open when on two legs?" She whispered as Nightfire started to purr. More and more she had begun to feel Harry closing himself off from her. One moment there would be a burst of emotion cascading through the bond between them, and the next he would squash it down. On the rare occasion where she managed to catch him in the act, he always seemed like he was admonishing himself for something, and she couldn't help but wonder why he would be so hesitant to feel such positive emotions. "What are you so afraid of?"

*(OoO)*

Harry woke the next morning to Hedwig lightly pecking at his face and smiled as his old friend greeted him. He gently ran his hand over her feathers and smiled when she closed her eyes and hooted contentedly. Quietly extricating himself from Daphne's grasp, he quickly changed into his wetsuit and walked towards the large French doors that inexplicably opened on the ground right near the lake thanks to the unique properties of his office. Kyddris returned to his tattoo on Harry's chest, only to re-emerge once Harry had dived in, taking advantage of the early hour and murky depths to gleefully swim around like a sea serpent. By the time he was done swimming his laps and playing with the giant squid, Daphne was waiting for him on the shoreline with Rosie. Kyddris returned to his tattoo once more, having gorged himself on the seemingly unending supply of fish and Grindylows, and Rosie transported them all back to Harry's office. They were engulfed in shadows momentarily and the feeling of ice water being poured down his spine made Harry shiver before they reappeared in a darkened corner of his office.

Harry quickly changed into a pair of jeans, with a t-shirt and jacket, while Kyddris returned to his favourite corner with Rosie, before walking out and heading over to the pot where his staff was growing. The plant growing out of the electric blue soil had changed dramatically in such a short amount of time. Already, it had grown to be just over three feet tall. The gnarled grey wood looked like three ancient trees that had intertwined themselves as they grew towards the small bulb at the top. Taking a deep breath, Harry impaled his hand on the bulb and began reciting the proper incantations as his blood and magic flowed down the length of the plant. Once he was finished, he healed his hand and turned to Daphne who was already sitting at a table with a large breakfast on the center.

"Shouldn't you be downstairs?" Harry asked. "First Quidditch match of the year is supposed to be a pretty big deal."

"I stopped being very interested in Quidditch when my favourite seeker stopped playing," Daphne replied easily, not even bothering to look up from her copy of the _Prophet._

Harry grinned as he sat himself down, warmth filling his chest and working its way up his neck as he served himself a heaping pile of eggs, sausage, and toast. Full moons always left him famished for some reason. "Anything interesting?"

"Not really. There is a report that a Wampus Cat was seen in Edenborough, but other than that, it's pretty much the same old propaganda. This time they're going after Remus."

"Let me guess, they called a meeting of the Wizengamot last night, and since Remus was unavailable, they're saying he's unfit to hold my seat?"

Daphne chuckled as she folded the paper. "I'm impressed. That's almost exactly what they did."

"Moony will be able to handle it. I'm wondering what a Wampus Cat would be doing in Britain. They're native to the United States."

"Probably just a hoax," Daphne said dismissively. "What _I'm_ wondering is how long you're going to stall before opening that letter you got last night."

Harry smirked as he picked the letter up from where it had been very conspicuously laying in front of his plate. "You mean this letter?"

"Yes, you prat," Daphne replied, rolling her eyes as they both stood up and walked back towards the couch in front of the fireplace. She curled up next to Harry and leaned over his shoulder as he opened the letter, only to yelp as they felt a sudden tug behind their navels before being thrown painfully onto a stone floor.

"Daphne," Harry called out as he looked around. "Talk to me!" Wherever the portkey had taken them, it was pitch black and musty. He heard a groan not far from where he was, and followed it towards Daphne. Holding his hands out, he could tell he was in some sort of tunnel. He heard Daphne mutter and a bright ball of light appeared at the end of her wand, allowing him to finally see her, and illuminating the tunnel around them. Reaching down and helping Daphne to her feet, Harry examined her for any sign of injury before turning and examining their surroundings.

He had been correct in assuming they were in a tunnel of some sort. What he hadn't been expecting was to see skulls lining the walls for as far as the eye could see.

"This can't be good," he muttered as he examined the skulls.

"You can say that again," Daphne replied. "I'm thinking trap."

"Possibly. If it is, then whoever laid it is both skilled and not bearing the Dark Mark," Harry said as they started walking down the tunnel. "I had warded both Hedwig and the letter against someone bearing it specifically using Parsletongue."

Daphne was about to reply when the tunnel suddenly opened up into a massive circular room. Her light wasn't nearly enough to pierce all the way through the shadows, so it was only thanks to Harry's quick reflexes that she wasn't hit by the twin streaks of red light that had suddenly erupted out of the darkness. Harry blocked the spells and casted a ball of light the size of a beach ball that he flung into the air before transforming into Nightfire and shrugging off the spells being hurled at him as he charged the man and woman who had suddenly appeared. Unfortunately, they seemed to know what he was doing as the man simply waved his wand and Harry was forced to change back mid charge, causing him to stumble and only narrowly avoid being stunned by the woman. Rolling to his feet, he conjured a long rope of fire in one hand, and lashed it through the air, forcing both of their opponents to conjure shields. He and Daphne both took advantage of the moment to gather themselves only for their opponents to wave their wands, causing the chamber they were in to start rumbling as the ground beneath their feet shook and a pair of massive golems rose up. Followed by another. And another.

"Drop your wands!" The man called out as they were suddenly surrounded by ten-foot giants made of earth.

Harry and Daphne did as instructed, and their wands flew through the air as the woman summoned them to her hand.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded as the man and woman huddled together, whispering between themselves.

Now that he was standing still, he took the time to examine their attackers underneath the pale light of the sphere still floating about fifteen feet in the air. Both of them looked to be no older than Minerva, with greying hair – though the woman's still held streaks of black down its length – but their eyes looked older than Harry could possibly imagine. Both of them were dressed in dark robes that helped them practically melt into the shadows, and there was an aura of power that surpassed even what Harry had felt when he confronted Riddle in June.

Rather than answer, the man dashed forward and jabbed his wand beneath Harry's chin while holding the stick Harry was using while his staff grew in his other hand.

"You are not in a position to be asking questions," the man muttered lowly, the slightest hint of a French accent slipping through his tone. "Or lying to us. Now, give me your wand before we decide that you aren't worth interrogating."

Harry took a deep breath and nodded, reaching into his jacket with one hand slowly before slapping the man's hand aside with a vicious backhand just as a powerful cutting curse flew out of his wand. Harry grabbed the man's wrist and flipped him over his shoulder and wrenched his wand from his hand as he slammed his opponent into the ground. Without wasting momentum, he tossed the wand to Daphne who caught it and reignited her duel with the woman as Harry yanked the man off the ground and pinned his arms behind his back, only for the man to rear back and head-butt him in the nose, breaking it with a sickening crunch.

Harry snarled and let go of his captive, who easily summoned his wand out of Daphne's hand just as she was about to cast a shield charm, causing her to be hit in the chest by a powerful stunner. Harry roared in anger at seeing Daphne slump to the ground and conjured another rope of fire in his left and whirling it around. With the flickering light of his flames so close to his face, the woman finally gasped and grabbed her partner by the sleeve.

"Nico, it's him," she said breathlessly.

The man paused and walked slowly over towards Harry. He repelled the fire with a slash of his wand and continued to approach Harry only to pause when Harry's sword appeared out of nowhere and was pressed into his neck. Narrowing his eyes, Harry watched as the man's eyes scanned his face before settling just above his right eye. Upon seeing his scar, the man's eyes widened and he took a large step backwards before sweeping low in a bow.

"I sincerely apologize for our actions, Lord Potter," the man said to the floor before straightening up. "My name is Nicolas Flamel, and this is my wife Perenelle. When you didn't arrive last night, we feared that our letter had been intercepted, and so when two people arrived, we acted without thinking."

"I was indisposed when I first received your letter," Harry replied coolly as he stooped down and revived Daphne. "I didn't get a chance to look at it until this morning. In my haste to read a letter from two people who are supposed to be dead by now, I forgot to check for any traps within the letter."

"It was not our intention for this to be a trap," Perenelle said as she handed Daphne her wand. "The Portkey was on a timer that was supposed to have brought you here at midnight last night. It must have activated belatedly when you finally got around to opening it today."

"You know, when imagining a meeting with the famous Flamels, I doubt most people imagine being kidnapped and brought… wherever we are," Daphne quipped as she flicked her wand at Harry's face with a muttered _Episky,_ smirking when he yelped as his nose was unexpectedly repaired with a crack.

"We are in the Paris Catacombs," Nicolas informed them. "Despite the poor interior design, it is one of the best places in France to meet privately."

"And why would we need to meet privately?" Harry asked.

"Because there are powers at work throughout the world that would benefit from knowing that my wife and I are still alive, and the Philosopher's Stone not destroyed."

"So, Dumbledore lied about that too," Harry surmised while Daphne crossed her eyes and glared at the Flamels, hiding the fact that she had been secretly reeling almost from the moment they had been unceremoniously dumped in the tunnel behind her usual cold demeanor.

"To be fair," Perenelle replied. "So did my husband."

"What do you mean?" Daphne asked.

"Albus Dumbledore and I have been colleagues for several decades," Nicolas explained as he conjured chairs for the four of them. "He'd like to think we were quite good friends, but the truth is that I was more like his watcher. He was a powerful, ambitious man, and were it not for one quarrel gone awry, he most likely would have still been sided with Grindelwald. As such, I was dispatched to keep an eye on him – make sure he didn't try to finish what his old friend had started."

"Dispatched by who?" Harry asked suspiciously.

"You've heard of the Order of Merlin, I take it?" Nicolas asked.

"It's an award bestowed upon those who have achieved great things for the Wizarding World," Harry replied.

"That's partially correct," Perenelle said. "The Order of Merlin is an actual organization."

"So that's who dispatched you to keep an eye on Dumbledore?" Daphne asked.

"Not quite. Unlike the award, which is bestowed by the Ministry of a wizard or witch's home country, our organization is the Eastern-European branch of a larger collective known as the Circle."

"The circle?" Harry parroted.

"Sounds ominous," Daphne muttered under her breath.

"The Circle has existed for millennia," Nicolas exposited. "Their central goal is to watch over the world, and, more importantly, protect it from threats to the very nature of magic itself."

"Right, that explains why all of human history – both magical and Muggle – has been nothing but peaceful cooperation and acceptance," Daphne interrupted sarcastically.

"Conflict is part of nature," Perenelle replied patiently. "Our goal is not to rule the world, but protect it and maintain the balance of the natural magic that flows through the planet."

"One would think Voldemort would present a bigger threat to this so-called balance than Dumbledore," Harry said.

"The actions of Tom Riddle before his defeat at the hands of your mother were little more than a purely British problem," Nicolas replied. "And while there is a growing international concern due to his activities in Bulgaria, the danger Albus Dumbledore presents is of existential proportions. I'm sure you've noticed the falling standards at Hogwarts, correct?"

"I have," Harry said. "What was OWL material thirty years ago is now NEWT level. I understood it to be the actions of the Ministry, though."

"Partially, but the Headmaster has more power than you'd think. His fault isn't in actively reducing the curriculums, but in doing nothing to stop it."

"Why would he do that?" Daphne asked. "Dumbledore might be a manipulative old codger, but he's dedicated to the school."

"Because, if the average witch or wizard becomes weaker over time, then Albus Dumbledore will continue to seem greater and greater as the years go by," Perenelle explained. "He doesn't need to occupy the seat of Minister to have power, he just needs people to continue to see him as the greatest wizard of all time. Under him, the progress of the Wizarding World will halt and become stagnate as it withers away."

"This is all very interesting, but what does it have to do with me?" Harry asked.

"In your letter, you asked how you could somehow gain the lordship of my family despite you and me not sharing any familial link." Nicolas paused and Harry nodded. "The object that was hidden in Hogwarts four years ago, while not the original Philosopher's Stone, was still _a_ Philosopher's Stone, albeit not a perfect one. Albus suggested I put it in Gringotts for safekeeping, despite the fact that in over six centuries, no one has ever succeeded to steal it before, and I was curious to see what he was planning. When I was notified by Gringotts that the content of the vault I had taken out to store the stone had been moved to a separate branch, I knew Dumbledore was after it. He used it to lure out Tom Riddle, and once he was dealt with, told me that the stone was better off being destroyed. I agreed and Perenelle and I went into hiding, knowing that Dumbledore would use the imperfect stone for his own ends. Once we heard about your valiant attempt to keep the stone out of Riddle's hands, I myself made you my heir."

"Why would you do that?" Harry asked.

"Because, I saw something in you," Nicolas replied. "There was a desire to protect that isn't normally seen in one so young. My thoughts were confirmed the next year when you descended into the Chamber of Secrets. You, Harry Potter, embody everything the Circle stands for. Protection without repression. Progress without revolution. If you wanted, you could maneuver yourself into the Minister's seat with little to no effort, instead, you elected to use your power to give voices to those who don't."

"I'm not sure I understand," Harry said slowly.

"Harry Potter, the Circle would like to ask for your help in protecting the Wizarding World, and, by extension, Magical Britain from those who would fundamentally threaten it."

Harry's jaw dropped as he considered what he was being asked. "What… what would that entail?"

"As a member of the Circle, you would have access to our information network and our accumulated magical knowledge to better yourself, and as such will be asked to go on certain missions," Perenelle said. "More specifically, you will be covertly sent on missions to interfere with the plans of both Tom Riddle and Albus Dumbledore. The Circle will provide a cover for you while on these missions in the form of another member using Polyjuice to disguise themselves and will be briefed on everything they need to know to believably pass as you. You will also be allowed one confidante who will be aware of your whereabouts at all times, and, considering her presence here, I believe your friend has unfortunately volunteered herself for that position. Unless she were to consent to being Obliviated after our business is concluded."

"Not a chance," Daphne said resolutely.

Harry sat very still as he quietly thought about what he was being offered. He knew he was going to have to face Riddle sooner or later. The man was obsessed with him, and wouldn't stop until one of them were dead. Having access to resources like what the Flamels were offering certainly seemed worth finally being able to go out and make a difference in the war effort. With a heavy sigh, Harry steeled himself and looked into the eye of an ancient Alchemist who should have died centuries ago.

"I'll do it."

Smiling as he finally felt like he was doing something, Harry's good mood was suddenly interrupted as he gasped and the entire world fell away.

 _Please… please help me. I'm scared._

"Harry? Harry!" Daphne shouted, bringing Harry back to the present. "What's wrong?"

"The girl," Harry muttered. "From my dreams. I can hear her again."

Nicolas and Perenelle looked on in concern as they both drew their wands and began muttering different diagnostic spells.

"Fascinating," Nicolas muttered.

"Nico, not the time," Perenelle admonished. "Harry, we need you to tell us, are you a Mentalist?"

Harry nodded as the girl in his head started to scream in terror. "I've never been able to hear her while awake before."

"It would seem that coming outside of the wards around Hogwarts has increase the connection between yourself and whoever it is that's calling out to you," Nicolas surmised. "Have you attempted to contact this girl before?"

Harry shook his head and immediately closed his eyes in concentration.

 _Hello?_ He thought. _Can you hear me?_

For several minutes, there was nothing but the sound of everyone's breathing around him, but, just as he was about to give up, he heard a reply.

 _Please help me… I don't like it here._

 _Where are you?_ Harry asked.

 _I dunno,_ the girl replied. _It's always so dark and cold. I think I might be in a castle, but every time I try to look around she comes back. Please, help me, she's been hurting me for so long._

 _Can you tell me your name?_

 _Bella. Bella Black._


	26. Chapter 26

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!"

Harry winced from the volume of Sirius' shouting as he relayed his plans to them.

"For once, I agree with the mutt," Severus said. "This is complete and utter lunacy."

"Not to mention most definitely a trap," Minerva added.

"On top of being all kinds of illegal," Amelia said. "In fact, I should arrest you just for mentioning this."

"How could it possibly be a trap?" Harry asked. "She's in Azkaban, and has no idea of my abilities."

After learning Bella's identity, Harry had offered vague reassurances to her that he would do his best to help her before quickly cutting off contact. Saying farewell to the Flamels and being given ring made of solid diamond that Nicolas said would facilitate communication between them, Harry apparated himself and Daphne back to his office where he called Sirius, Remus, Minerva, Severus, Griphook, Firenze, and Amelia to discuss what he had just learned, while he sensed Daphne and his friends listening in from another room that had appeared.

"Be that as it may, Bellatrix Lestrange is the last person you should be trusting, Harry," Remus argued. "She's a monster of the worst kind."

"For Merlin's sake, Harry! She tortured your own friend's parents into _insanity!_ " Sirius cried.

"And if we were dealing with Lestrange, then I would agree with you!" Harry replied. "But this is something different!"

"What do you mean?" Severus asked.

"The girl whose distress I picked up on identified herself as Bella Black," Harry explained. "Not Bellatrix Lestrange. On top of that, Lestrange would is forty-four. Bella doesn't sound like she's much older than nine or ten."

"You're suggesting that there is some sort of repressed part of her mind that is calling out for aid?" Firenze surmised.

"I'm saying that whenever she actually gets a glimpse of what I assume is her cell, a so-called Scary Lady comes to hurt Bella and throw her back into the dark and cold," Harry replied. "And while I might be able to block her out while I'm awake, I know for a fact that I'm going to hear her again when I'm asleep, like I have for weeks."

Severus paused as he considered what Harry said, and Harry could watched as he seemed to think it over and lose himself in his memories.

"Perhaps," Severus suggested, "there is a way to confirm her identity. If you were to consent to myself and Sirius using Legillimency on you while you contacted her, we would be able to tell if she's being truthful or not."

"Fine," Harry said resolutely. "Whatever it takes to get you to see."

Severus and Sirius drew their wands and cast the spell as Harry lowered his guard and called out for Bella.

 _Bella, are you still there?_

 _You came back!_ Bella cheered. _I thought you had left forever._

 _Never,_ Harry replied. _I'm trying to figure out how to help you, Bella, but to do that, I need you to answer some questions for me. Can you do that?_

 _O-okay._

 _First, I need to know how old you are._

 _I-I'm eleven,_ Bella replied. _But I have been for ages. I don't know how old the Scary Lady is by now._

 _When did the Scary Lady first appear?_ Harry asked.

 _A few months before I was supposed to go to Hogwarts,_ Bell sniffled. Harry concentrated on the emotions she was feeling as she spoke and channeled them through himself to his two voyeurs. _I was really excited, and when Mama and Papa said they was going to cast a spell on me to help make sure I would do my best at school I couldn't stop smiling. But then everything went dark and the Scary Lady appeared. Though back then, she was just the Scary Girl._

 _Do you remember anything else after that?_

 _Sometimes I would catch glimpses of a castle, and the Scary Girl's classes. Then everything went dark for a really long time after she met some boy. The next time I remember seeing things, there was a baby in my arms and I was super tall. I could hear a man and a woman screaming behind me._

 _What did you do with the baby, Bella?_

 _I could feel the Scary Lady fighting me, so I ran to the closet in the kitchen and hid the baby. I didn't want him to get hurt. After that, I remember a man with eyes that were on fire casting another spell on me, and everything hurt. It hurt so badly!_

 _It's okay, Bella,_ Harry said soothingly. _It's over now._

 _A-After that, everything went dark again, until the Scary Lady's arm started to burn, and I managed to sneak out of the cold and the dark while she was busy laughing._

 _Thank you, Bella,_ Harry said comfortingly. _My friends and I are going to try our best to help you. Until then, I need you to stay safe and try to hide from the Scary Lady, can you do that?_

 _I-I think so,_ Bella whimpered. _Please hurry, I'm scared._

Returning his attention to the present, Harry stared at Sirius and Severus, who were both pale and sweaty. "Do you believe me now?"

"She's so afraid," Sirius muttered.

"But how is it possible?" Severus said. "What spell could possibly manage this? Repress a person, while creating a secondary personality to replace them."

"You can't tell me you believe her?!" Minerva exclaimed.

"If you were there, Minerva, you would as well," Severus replied.

"So, you've established that whatever is going on in her mind isn't a trap," Remus said. "That still doesn't mean that getting anywhere near her is tantamount to suicide."

"Moony's right," Sirius said. "Even if Bella is trapped inside her own mind, whatever is controlling her now is the most dangerous witch in modern history. Not to mention that there's no way in hell I'm letting you anywhere near that place."

"Don't forget that this entire conversation is enough to garner us all a one-way trip to sharing a cell with her," Amelia added.

"Sirius, she's your cousin!" Harry exclaimed. "We have to help her!"

"There would be a tactical advantage to removing the Dark Lord's right hand before he had a chance to break her out," Griphook added.

" _I SPENT TWELVE YEARS IN THAT PLACE_!" Sirius roared. "I know better than any of you the horrors that are within those walls! There is nothing you can say or do that will make me go back there, and I'll be damned if I let my godson anywhere near it either!"

Harry froze as he saw the ghosts flitting behind Sirius' eyes while Amelia took a cautious step towards him and grabbed his hand, soothing him out of the nightmares of his past and back to the present. It was Firenze who broke him out of his reverie. The soft clop of his hooves rang through the office as he slowly trotted over to Sirius and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You are correct Sirius Black. None of us can imagine the nightmares you have faced while incarcerated. But like you, there is another innocent soul trapped within those terrible walls. A child, whose innocence was stolen as she was forced to experience atrocity after atrocity committed by her own hand."

"Sirius, you felt how terrified she is," Harry pleaded. "She's a little girl. She has been in that prison for longer than you have now, as well as being trapped in her own mind for decades. She never got to come to Hogwarts. Never got to make any friends. Every one of her opportunities has been robbed of her. The least we can do is finally rescue from the monsters."

"I'm sorry, Harry," Sirius whispered. "But I can't go back there. I just can't."

"That's okay, Sirius," Harry said, wrapping his arms around his godfather and holding him tight. "But I need you to understand that I still have to go after her. She needs me."

"Just once, can't you not play the bloody hero," Sirius muttered as he buried his face in Harry's shoulder, tears leaking down his cheeks.

"When people stop needing help, then I'll stop providing it," Harry replied with a smirk. They eventually separated and Harry turned to Amelia. "Amelia…"

"Save it," Amelia said, holding up her hand. "Griphook was right about the advantage that could come with removing Bellatrix from the equation. And since Fudge won't let me increase security there, I'll do what I can to keep you from being arrested."

"Thank you," Harry replied, turning to Minerva and Remus, he opened his mouth but was cut off by a fierce look from Minerva.

"This is by far the stupidest thing you have ever thought of doing," she snapped. "And you've faced a basilisk with a sword. But, I made a promise to stand by your side, and that's exactly what I plan on doing."

"Same goes for me," Remus added. "We might not be able to stop you, but, with a little bit of luck, we might be able to keep you from stumbling to your death."

"I too, will be helping there by your side," Severus stated. "You will undoubtedly need my expertise in the mental arts to help Bella wrestle control from Lestrange once you've captured her."

Harry's chest filled with warmth as he regarded those willing to put themselves at risk, just to help him. There was a tinge of guilt at the thought of any of them getting hurt, but he quickly squashed it, reminding himself that they were all adults and accomplished wizards and witches in their own right. It was their choice to help him, and it filled him with pride seeing it.

"Thank you," Harry said. "All of you."

One by one, they left via Floo, until it was just Harry, Severus, and Minerva. "Well, it would seem that we have quite a bit of preparations to make," Minerva stated.

"At the very least, we should wait until that staff of yours has finished growing," Severus added. "As skilled as you seem to be without a wand, we're going to need all the help we can get."

"What should we do in the meantime?" Harry asked.

"Compile as much information on Azkaban as we can, so that we can formulate a plan," Minerva replied. "Not to mention we'll have to keep Albus, the Order, and Umbridge from finding out."

"So, keep our heads down and wait?" Harry concluded. He sighed when both teachers nodded and ran his hand through his hair. "I guess this will at least give me a chance to get all the homework Umbridge has assigned to me to mark finished."

"Don't forget that I asked you to help mark those fifth year Transfiguration essays as well," Minerva added with a smirk.

Harry chuckled. "I won't. Thank you both for helping, by the way. I know how all of this must have sounded when I called for you."

Both Minerva and Severus nodded before turning and leaving. Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. As soon as the door closed, he called out to the room at large.

"You can all come out now!" An instant later, the door that usually led to his bedroom opened and Daphne, Tracey, Blaise, Neville, Susan, and the Patils all spilled out on the ground while Rosie trotted happily behind them over to Harry and licked his hand. "You know, it probably would've been easier to just ask me what had happened instead of using Rosie to shadow travel in hear to eavesdrop."

"Please, then Daphne would be the only one who learned anything," Tracey retorted. "And she's nearly as secretive as you are!"

"Fair enough," Harry replied.

"So you're really planning on going through with it," Neville said quietly. "You're going to break her out of there? After everything she's done?"

"Neville, I know what you're thinking," Harry began, only to be cut off when Neville slugged him in the jaw.

"They don't even know who I am, Harry!" Neville shouted. "Every time I visit them, I have to look into their eyes and know that they have no idea who I am! And you want to break out the _bitch_ who did that to them!" Neville reared back and tried to throw another punch, only for Harry to catch it in the palm of his hand and hold it in an iron grip.

"I know this is difficult for you," Harry growled as he fought down the primal instincts that were telling him to fight back against the current threat. Daphne stepped forward and grabbed his other hand, which was curled tightly into a fist, as she tried to help him soothe the beast within while the others all watched fearfully. "But I need you to calm down. I know it will be hard to believe, but there's a difference between the little girl we're trying to rescue and the monster she's trapped inside of. She's constantly trying to fight for control of her own body, and sometimes she manages to accomplish some tiny act of kindness – like hiding a baby in the closet of his kitchen while his parents are being tortured."

Neville's eyes widened, and he seemed to both deflate and stiffen as he understood what Harry was saying. "You mean…"

Harry nodded. "She took no actual part in torturing them, Neville. Instead, she fought against the monsters in her own mind and the years of black magic supressing her to save your life. Sirius and Professor Snape both heard her."

Neville's legs buckled and he slumped into a soft leather chair that appeared just in time to catch him.

"So, I guess that settles it," Parvati stated. "We're going to be staging a prison break."

"And here I thought this year was going to be boring," Tracey quipped.

"Not so fast," Harry said. "You guys aren't coming."

" _What?!"_ Even Neville was snapped out of his shock to look incredulously at Harry.

"Harry, you can't be serious!" Daphne exclaimed.

"You don't actually think we'd just wait here while you went off and risked your neck, did you?" Susan added.

"Look," Harry said. "I appreciate you all wanting to help, but I can't accept it. There's an extremely high chance of this thing going horribly wrong, and none of you are even adults yet."

"Neither are you!" Blaise retorted. "I don't know if you forgot, _Professor_ , but you're the same age as us."

"I know you think I'm letting my position as a Professor go to my head," Harry reasoned. "And that's fair. But when the school itself gave me this position, it was because it knew I would put the safety of the students above all else." He paused and looked Daphne hoping that she would understand what he was trying to say. "If this happened during the holidays, then I'd be happy to accept your help. But during the school term, I have to put your safety above my own. On top of that, do you really think you could convince Professors Snape and McGonagall to let you come with us?"

Daphne's eyes shone brilliantly, and she nodded minutely before heaving a great sigh. "Fine," she conceded. "But don't think that means that we're not going to help you prepare."

Harry grinned. "I wouldn't have it any other way."

*(OoO)*

A little over two weeks later, Harry was standing in front of his older class, frowning in disappointment. He had told them all the previous Friday that there was going to be some physical activity and to dress appropriately, but most of the class seemed to have interpreted that as a step up in their dueling and had thus elected to remain in their school robes. The only ones who had taken his advice to heart were Daphne, Tracey, Neville, Fred, George, and Luna. He figured he was partly at fault for that as he had decided to keep his plans for today a secret, even from his friends, but even then, he couldn't really find it in him to be all that sorry.

"Starting today, we'll be doing something different," he called out, purposefully ignoring how well the shorts Daphne was wearing hugged the curve of her hips, especially considering she was already grinning smugly. "As I'm sure you've noticed, the classroom has been changed a bit." They were still all inside of a room the size of a gymnasium, but now there was a third station along with the dueling areas and the spell-practicing station. This one was dotted with large circles on the ground, about ten feet in diameter. Inside the circle was a much smaller one, about three feet in diameter. "Tonight, we're going to be practicing dodging. You will pair up with one person standing in the center circle, and using the stinging hex, you will try to hit your partner, who will, without the use of any magic, be trying to avoid them. The caster will not be able to leave the center circle, just like the dodger won't be able to leave the outer circle. After ten minutes, you'll switch. The circles are all protected, so you have no need to worry about being hit from a stray spell."

Harry split them up and sent the older students to try the dodging exercise first, while the younger years went to practice their dueling. He sighed as the students didn't seem to be taking the exercise very seriously, throwing half-hearted spells that their partners could avoid with little to no movement.

"Stop!" He shouted, bringing the entire class to a halt. "It's clear to me that you aren't taking this seriously."

"Why would we?" Muttered Terry Boot. "That's what the shield charm is for."

"And tell me, Boot, when an Unforgiveable is hurtling towards you, how much is that shield charm of yours going to be worth?"

Boot flushed at being called out and Harry turned back towards the older students.

"Clearly, you all need a demonstration," Harry said, marching towards one of the circles and taking the place of a sixth year Hufflepuff student who was paired with George. "Are you ready Weasley?"

George paled slightly, but nodded, and Harry immediately started bombarding him with hexes. George managed to avoid a few, but one caught him in the leg making him stumble and yelp before being hit by several more. Harry dispelled the hexes, and helped him to his feet. "That is how you should all be casting. Now, George, how would you like to try and get some payback?"

George grinned savagely. "It would be my pleasure, Professor." He and Harry switched places and Harry shed his robe, revealing the tight t-shirt and track pants he was wearing beneath. He nodded to George, who opened tried to cast a spell, only for a loud gong to interrupt him.

"Silently, Weasley," Harry reminded him. George nodded and started casting as fast as he could, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't seem to hit Harry as he ducked and rolled and dived and ran around the circle avoiding each and every hex. After about two minutes, Harry straightened up and quickly blocked the last spell headed his way before turning to the rest of the class. "This skill _will_ save your lives one day, so treat is as such. The rest of you, get back to work."

By the end of the lesson, everyone was sweating and sore, and Harry was pretty sure he had made a fair number of enemies. Very few of the students were used to that sort of physical activity, and thus were exhausted as they ambled back towards the Great Hall for dinner. Even his friends were grumbling and glaring at him as they left, though Harry could feel that there was no real hostility behind it. The only one who remained was Daphne, who was using the change room that Harry's office had provided to freshen up before joining Harry down in the kitchen for dinner with the elves.

Daphne hummed softly to herself as she stepped out of the luxurious shower Harry's office had provided for her. As gruelling as the class had been, she found that she actually enjoyed moving around like that, and was sure that adding it to her dueling would go a long way to improving her skills. Their duel against the Flamels had been a harsh wake-up call for Daphne. Not only had she been beaten with ease by Perenelle – which she could understand considering the woman had literal centuries of experience over her – but she had gotten a firsthand glimpse into the results of Harry's training, even if he also lost, and was struck by just how far ahead of them all he was.

She knew that he had to be skilled, given that he had, by the age of fifteen, already excelled at his OWLs and found himself teaching at Hogwarts. And while he did have a staggering amount of raw power, she knew that there was more to it. They had been more or less on equal footing during their third year while receiving extra tutoring from Professor Snape, but when those had ended, Daphne never continued to push herself the way Harry had. She had been so caught up in everything that had happened over the last two years, and with being a teenage girl attending a school, all while Harry had been fighting for his life and training to fight in a war. Many people around the school, even their own friends called Harry antisocial, but Daphne knew better.

It wasn't that Harry had issues socializing. It was the fact that he was already an adult in a fifteen year old's body. He couldn't care less about the trivialities of the average teenager. He had priorities that far outweighed them. In fact, more and more, she found that he didn't even _look_ like a fifteen year old. When he had first appeared in Grimmauld Place to fetch them over the summer, he had changed so drastically from when she had seen him just a month before. His face didn't really hold much of the youth it used to when she had first met him. Granted, even then he had seemed older than his years, but back then it had more to do with the way he acted and the ghosts flitting about behind those shining green eyes. Now, though, his face had sharpened, shedding the last lingering vestiges of baby fat. Combined with his stature, the scars across his face and torso, and the fact that he was already sporting a nice layer of stubble by the time dinner rolled around (Daphne suspected the Lycanthropy had something to do with accelerating his hair growth) he, more than ever, looked like the man that had been living behind the boy's eyes.

Of course, that certainly made ogling him, as she did now, much more fun. She had felt a sense of pride whenever she caught him staring during the class, knowing that her tight shorts and t-shirt were showing more of her body to him than he had yet to really see due to her either being in bulky school robes, or comfy pyjamas for the most part. She didn't really own any muggle clothes, due to her upbringing, but Tracey had come through and provided her with some, and she couldn't have been happier with the reaction she had stirred. Sure, she had to deal with the ogling of her classmates, but that didn't matter when she could feel Harry's internal struggle to remain collected and professional, while the hormones of a teenage boy and the urges of a wild animal waged war on his self-control. It had gotten to the point where he had to actively avoid her during the class, and had she not had a direct line to the storm of emotions he was feeling and desperately trying to understand, she might have been a little bit offended.

Of course, part of her thought it might be a bit cruel to torture the poor guy like that, but after the last full moon and the tidal wave of unrestrained emotion she had felt from Nightfire as he curled up around her, she had finally given what Tracey said the year before, when she first had analysed Harry's feelings toward her, some serious thought. She had sent several letters to her mother, who was camped out in Italy with Blaise's mother so that she could try and contribute to the war effort in her own way (though she was particularly tight-lipped about what that entailed), and had been grateful for her advice as well.

 _He strikes me as a man who is conflicted,_ Penelope had written. _You say that you have an idea of what he feels towards you, but perhaps he sees it as something else. Perhaps he is afraid of what might happen should he ever lose control of himself. My advice is to be there for him while he tries to work out his feelings, but don't grow complacent. You are a Greengrass and a Slytherin. If anyone can steer him towards acknowledging his feelings, it's you._

Daphne couldn't believe that her mother had basically advised her to seduce Harry, but more than that, she couldn't believe how much she enjoyed doing it. Ever since she had gotten that letter, she had stepped up her flirtatious behaviour around him, and found that, while he may have been confused about his feelings, Harry was always receptive of her advances – to a certain extent. She had been expecting the same red-faced stammering that most guys who spoke to her devolved into. Even Harry himself had not been saved of that particular behaviour, if his behaviour around Cho Chang was any indication. She constantly tried to stay after his classes to speak to him privately, or ask Harry for extra help with her spells, and every time, Harry always acted like every other teenage boy.

Once again, Daphne had been saved from the pitfalls of teenage hormones, as she took a deep breath and closely analysed what Harry was feeling as he acted the way he did. She quickly noticed that he acted that way whenever most people got too close to him. Even when helping Tracey, whom Daphne knew to be nothing more than a friend to him, as well as solely being a witch's witch and therefore wouldn't send off any of those kinds of signals, Harry still acted a little bit awkward. It then occurred to her, that there were very few people within Hogwarts that Harry _wasn't_ uncomfortable about being near. It pretty much came down to Astoria, Luna, and herself as far as students went, and the other two were equivalent to younger sisters in Harry's eyes. Other than them, the only people in Hogwarts that Daphne had seen Harry being comfortable within close proximity were Madam Pomfrey, Professor Snape, and Professor McGonagall.

Even when she pushed a little bit too far and did make Harry uncomfortable, he was always mindful of her when he deescalated the situation. He would get a little too close to losing control of himself, and instead of saying or doing anything, he simply closed his eyes, took a deep breath and either changed the subject or shifted their positions if they were sitting or lying together.

For that reason, she hadn't minded dressing a little less conservatively that night, the heat of Harry's gaze and the feelings he projected over their bond warming her chest before spreading out and filling her. Watching him shed his own robes as he demonstrated the dodging exercise, and seeing him avoid George's spells with practiced ease, had been tantamount to observing living art. He had been smooth and graceful in his movements and easily avoided all of the spells being thrown his way.

She stepped out of the change room, and smiled as she saw Harry reaching up to provide the needed blood for his staff. It had grown to a little over six feet tall, and she could tell that Harry had been growing more and more anxious to see the finished product. Their friends found his behaviour a tad odd, but Daphne knew he had been particularly attached to the wands Kanen had helped him craft the year before, and figured that if she had to go without a wand for a month, she would be anxious too. He had changed back into his usual black slacks and crisp, white shirt, and she couldn't help but imagine what it looked like beneath that shirt as he reached up with his right arm and pierced his hand on the bulb near the top of the gnarled, twisting plant. She was still caught up in her assumptions of how the muscles of his back would look bunched up and stretched as he reached up, when a bright light filled the office.

The intricate runes all over the plant glowed stronger than ever, and Daphne stood absolutely still, not wanting to interrupt whatever was about to happen. Harry's chanting grew louder and faster as he slid his bloody palm down the length of the plant, and beckoned Kyddris and Zephyr over with his other hand. Zephyr flew over and landed on Harry's shoulder, while Kyddris slithered his massive neck over by Harry's feet – though the top of his head already reached past his waist. Harry's chanting increased in volume and speed once more, and he brought his left hand forward as well with the palm facing the trunk of the plant. Daphne could not only feel the magic Harry was letting off, but, as his chanting continued, could _see_ the power flowing through his left palm into the plant in the form of a warm green stream of light. She watched as Zephyr grew on Harry's shoulder and sprouted a second pair of wings. He stretched out all four wings and electricity danced around him before with a mighty flap, a powerful bolt of lightning surged from him to the bulb at the top of the plant. Simultaneously, Kyddris opened his mouth a crack and released a small jet of flame that engulfed the ornate pot below. They continued this for nearly ten minutes, and Daphne began to grow worried as she saw Harry's legs start to buckle. She knew the effects of magical exhaustion, she had seen it plenty of times while helping out in the Hospital Wing, especially when exams were rapidly approaching, and had even felt it herself. But she had never really seen Harry suffer from it. The closest had been the brief moment she had actually seen him after his fight with Riddle last June. It had taken everything he had to simply match spells with the Dark Lord and escape with his life, but whatever he was doing now seemed to be even more taxing.

Finally, the constant flow of magic from all three of them stopped and Daphne watched as he, Zephyr, and Kyddris all took their time to recover slightly. With one last deep breath, Harry straightened himself and stared resolutely at the plant before him. The entire thing was glowing the same brilliant green as Harry's magic, while the pot below was glowing white from the heat of Kyddris' flame and bolts of electricity danced along its length. Reaching out with his bloodstained hand, Harry once more grabbed the plant around the middle, and Daphne watched in awe as his staff took form. It started from the bottom as that white-hot pot melted away, being absorbed into the staff along with the vibrant soil it had been growing within.

The glowing near the base faded, revealing a pure silver disk, about four inches in diameter. The disk was flawless, and ringed with two pieces of wood that curled around it and met at the bottom. One of them was black as pitch, while the other was a brilliant white that nearly glowed on its own. The top of the disk was slotted into a third length of wood, which was a similar colour to the disk itself. In fact, it was hard to tell if it was wood or metal by the smooth, shining texture of its surface. The black and white borders around the disk met once again at the top as well, where they flattened and spiraled up the length of the shaft. At the top of the shaft, it met with the head of the staff which was carved into the shape of a roaring lion. The lion's eyes shone green with emeralds, while within its jaws lay the crimson sphere of the Horntail's magical core. The black and white spirals had split off once more just below the head. They thickened and curled around it to form a pair of serpentine figures hunched over the sphere in the lion's mouth. The white serpent was covered in impossibly detailed scales and its head looked almost identical to Kyddris. A pair of black, feathered wings sprouted from its back and were folded over the head of the staff, reaching down to just below where the shaft met the head. The black serpent was covered in dark feathers and its head was carved into the same shape as Zephyr. It had a pair of brilliant white reptilian wings that were also folded over the head, pressing against the dragon's dark feathered ones and concealing the bottom of the lion's mane. Both serpentine carvings had jewels for eyes of the same colour as their wings, and all three heads were disturbingly lifelike, especially considering that the entire sculpture couldn't have been more than a foot across.

Daphne had never seen anything more detailed and elegant before, and the power radiating off the instrument was unbelievable. Harry's emotions flowed openly through their bond, and she could feel that every part of him, the beast, the boy, and the man, felt like the staff was an old friend that he had finally been reunited with. The staff stood nearly as tall as he did, with the top of the sculpture at its head reaching to just past Harry's nose.

"That's some stick, Potter," Daphne said, breaking Harry out of his reverie. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were compensating for something."

Harry smirked and reached out his left hand for her to come and join him. Daphne stepped forward and pressed into his side as they examined the staff. She noted that the intricately carved feathers and scales covered the entirety of the black and white segments of the staff, even as they thinned out and merged with the shaft, she could still make out the individual patterns as they wound their way down to where they framed the disk at its base.

They stood there for a while, examining the brilliance of it, before Harry turned and pulled her towards the door. He opened it for her and stopped to look at his staff once more, seemingly debating whether or not he wanted to deal with all the extra attention it was bound to bring him. As if responding to his thoughts, the staff reacted by having the twin serpents come alive to reach down and thwack Harry with his wings.

"Okay, okay, I won't hide you from them!" Harry exclaimed as the heads wound further away from the shaft to try and nip at him.

"What about when you need to sneak around somewhere?" Daphne asked, shrugging off the fact that apparently Harry's staff had a mind of its own. She occasionally felt pulses from her own wand, and considering it was the one who chose her, that meant it had to be at least somewhat sentient, right?

The dragon and thunderbird returned to their place at the head of the staff and Harry straightened up as a look of understanding dawned on his face. Closing his eyes and concentrating, Daphne watched as the staff shimmered and vanished in thin air. A couple minutes later, Harry hissed in pain and shook his hand through the air as his signet rings suddenly appeared along with his staff.

"Okay," Harry concluded. "So I can vanish it, but only for the purposes of stealth."

"You can't rationalise that avoiding the scrutiny that will come with having something like that will bring would be part of stealth?" Daphne replied.

Harry shook its head. "Tried to. I think the House rings are getting sick of me pretending to be less than I am, though." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair before handing the staff over to his left hand and looking at the five rings adorning his right. Daphne watched in awe as the rings signifying House Potter, Gryffindor, Slytherin, and one she didn't recognise made of a simple gold band with a black triangle carved into the face, flew off of Harry's fingers and met each other in midair, where the latter seemed to absorb the other three. The remaining ring returned to Harry's hand and settled itself on his middle finger, next to the Flamel family ring.

"Um… What just happened?" Daphne asked.

Harry closed his eyes and tried to vanish the rings, but once again, received what felt like a stern admonishment in his mind.

"So, I can't vanish the rings to hide my status from the school anymore," Harry said. "Let's just head down to the kitchens. We promised the elves we'd eat with them today."

They managed to avoid running into anybody on their way to the kitchens, and Harry was mercifully able to vanish his staff as he sat down to eat.

"So, what do you think happened with your rings?" Daphne asked, nodding towards the simple yet beautiful ring. "Also, which house is that ring for, anyway? I thought you were only born to the Houses Potter, Gryffindor, and Slytherin."

"This one belongs to the House Peverell."

"I've never heard of a House Peverell."

"It's one of the extremely old houses that most purebloods come from," Harry explained. "The other three Houses all come from House Peverell. Griphook, Ragnok, and I looked into it, and, near as we can tell, there were three Peverell brothers. The youngest is the ancestor to House Gryffindor, and, by extension, House Potter."

"But, you're the first Lord Gryffindor in a few centuries," Daphne countered. "On top of that, how does that make you Lord Slytherin?"

"You remember what Nicolas said about me earning the Lordship of House Flamel?" Harry asked. Daphne nodded and he continued. "It turns out the Flamels weren't the first family to do something like that. Apparently when a family's name dies out, the lordship for its descendants becomes a meritocracy. You have to prove that you deserve to carry the name of your ancestors, and, until you do, it won't even show up on an inheritance test that you're related to them."

"So, I'm guessing that whole affair in your second year proved you worthy of bearing the title of Lord Gryffindor?" Daphne concluded.

"That's right," Harry replied. "As for Lord Slytherin, my best guess was that because the events in the Chamber of Secrets were essentially a battle between myself and Riddle, who was the heir of Slytherin – a descendant of the middle Peverell brother – and I was defending Hogwarts when I did it, which all four Houses are linked to, the rights fell to me."

"Merlin's fanny," Daphne groaned. "I knew that legal magic was complicated, but that's just ridiculous."

"You're telling me," Harry replied. "I have no idea why I was given the Peverell ring, and, to be honest, I didn't really question it. There's been so much going on that I've been focused on other things, but I think that a trip to Gringotts is in order."

Daphne agreed and the conversation moved towards lighter topics as various house elves stopped by to speak with them. Daphne smirked as one of the more talkative elves shared the latest gossip with Harry and he listened attentively. She knew that he saw the elves as a valuable resource. Through them, he pretty much knew everything that happened within Hogwarts, but he also treated each one like a personal friend, and even tried to put the effort into memorizing as many of their names as he could – despite the fact that there were literally hundreds of elves in the service of the school. The house elves told him all sorts of things, and they had both been surprised when one of them mentioned how it was so much more fun sharing with him than it had been to Dumbledore.

Neither Daphne nor Harry had been surprised that the Headmaster, Dumbledore especially, would make use of the house elves to keep track of the students' lives. What did surprise them, though, was when Winky, an elf who had only joined the Hogwarts workforce the year before, informed them that, starting that year, the elves only went to Dumbledore with information if it regarded the safety of the students.

"Our Lady doesn't trust the Headmaster anymore," one of the older and more lucid elves informed them. "She told us elves that the young sir could be trusted, though, and we see how kind he and his Sunshine are to us elves. We know that the young sir won't interfere unless he must."

Harry and Daphne had tried to question them on the identity of this Lady, but the best they could get was that there was apparently a Lady in charge of the elves who outranked the Headmaster.

"Maybe she's the actual owner of all these elves," Harry had theorised. "And she just, I dunno, loans them out."

Daphne didn't agree, but couldn't think of any better answer, so they had simply let the matter drop. She smiled as Harry thanked the elves for the meal and stood up, summoning his staff once more. It appeared in his hand, and they walked in silence back to his office. There were several onlookers on the way back, and the silence in the halls as they all stopped and stared at the intricately carved staff in his hand. The soft tap of the wood striking the ground as he walked was thunderous, but Harry held his head up high, not paying the students any attention. They made their way to his office, and the first through third years that had already gathered outside his door moved out of his way as if he was some sort of messiah. Daphne couldn't help but giggle as she felt his embarrassment at being treated as such, and smiled as Astoria skipped over to Harry once he had seated himself at his desk, his staff propped against the wall behind him.

"Evening Harry," Astoria chirped. "What you got there?

"I guess the easiest way to describe it would be that it's my new wand," Harry replied, already hunched over the newest stack of homework that Umbridge had thrust upon him to grade.

Astoria had been reaching out to touch it, entranced by the two winged serpents that had animated themselves and were looking down at her curiously, but snatched her hand back when he said this, smiling sheepishly when she turned around and saw her sister glaring at her from where she was seated with her friends, working on a Potions essay. Soon enough, Harry was surrounded by curious students who wanted to know why he had a staff, where he got it, what the difference between it and a wand was, and all sorts of other questions. Harry avoided most of the questions, and eventually switched into professor mode as he barked out that they can either let him finish his work or he could show them just how good his new staff was at silencing spells. All of the students returned to their seats with apologetic looks on their faces, though many of them couldn't stop stealing glances at the staff throughout the open study session. Harry bid them farewell just before curfew and sighed when it was just him and his friends.

Daphne had already told them all to lay off the questioning, as it was clear that Harry was still exhausted from earlier that evening, so they simply watched as he leaned on the staff and slowly made his way to bed.

"So, I guess now planning for the breakout is really going to be getting underway," Padma said once Daphne had assured them that Harry was asleep. He had been reading and practicing his Occlumency skills so that he could spend most nights comforting Bella. Daphne knew that he was quickly growing attached to the little girl trapped in the evil woman's body, and worried about what he was planning on doing once they did rescue her. Especially because that evil woman was still the one in control of her body.

"I spoke with Professor McGonagall and she gave us access to the Restricted Section so that we could help with the research," Neville said.

"How'd you pull that off?" Susan asked.

Neville shrugged. "Wasn't terribly hard after mentioning how I wanted to help the person who had saved me when my parents were attacked."

"Atta boy, Neville!" Tracey cheered, punching him in the shoulder.

"We'll make a Slytherin of you yet, Longbottom," Blaise added.

Daphne only half listened as they spoke for another hour or so. She was more concerned with Harry and the ramifications that would come with him having to play the part of the powerful Lord all the time. She had never heard of what they had seen earlier that night happening before – but, then again, she hadn't even heard of a wizard since Merlin using a staff, let alone growing on in a pot of bright blue dirt with their own blood. To make matters worse, tomorrow was Halloween, and she had a feeling that this year wouldn't be any easier for Harry then the last fourteen.


	27. Chapter 27

The morning of October thirty-first, Harry dressed himself in all black before making his way over to helping with the fifth year Transfiguration class. They had a double period, so Harry ate an early breakfast and was waiting outside Minerva's class before she got there.

Minerva arrived about ten minutes later, and nodded approvingly at Harry's choice of attire. "So, I take it this is the finished product?" She asked as she eyed his staff.

"That it is," Harry replied. He followed her inside and handed it to her to examine.

"This is astounding," Minerva muttered as she carefully held it in both hands. The serpents at the head of the staff leaned down, and mimed sniffing her before seemingly being satisfied with what they found and returning to their original position. "Has Dumbledore seen it yet?"

"I'm not sure," Harry said. "But, considering I woke up to a letter asking me to see him in his office tonight, he's going to."

"I may not know much about wand lore, Harry," Minerva said as she handed the staff back. "But even I can feel the tremendous power flowing off of that staff of yours. You truly have crafted an artifact that I don't doubt will go down in history alongside other powerful figures."

"Thank you," Harry said. "Personally, it's just nice to have my focus back. I was getting pretty sick of only performing wandless magic using that stick."

"Have you tested any spells with it yet?"

"Not yet. Haven't had the time. But I can tell that I have far greater control over my magic than ever before. Readjusting to the increase in power won't be an issue."

Minerva smirked and took a step back. "Perhaps we could test it now? Just to be sure before the students arrive."

Harry grinned and felt his magic bubble just below the surface. He had read up on the little bit of information there was on using a staff courtesy of Kanen, and knew that, for the most part, a staff didn't require complex movements the same way a wand did. The strength of the focus meant that the caster only needed to apply movements if they were planning on adding their own modifications to the spell they were casting. Doing so, though, still required knowledge of Arithmancy, wand lore, and spell crafting to understand how different movements affected a spell. He pointed his staff at the door and, deciding to start with something easy, muttered _Avifors._ There was a flash of blue light, and suddenly the door exploded into a flock of birds, all of different sizes, colours, and breeds, while the fifth years outside the door jumped in fright.

Harry chuckled to himself and took a seat at his desk, leaning his staff against the wall behind him, only to frown as Umbridge followed the students into the class. The flock of birds recombined into a door behind Seamus, and Harry watched as McGonagall completely ignored Umbridge as she took a place behind Malfoy at the back of the class, and the students' staring at his staff.

"Now, Mr. Zabini, kindly come here and collect the homework, while Professor Potter hands out these mice."

" _Hem hem,"_ Umbridge said, imitating some sort of silly cough. Harry rolled his eyes as he handed a mouse to Daphne, causing her to giggle, but other than that, both he and Minerva ignored her.

"Right then, everyone listen closely. Several of you have succeeded in duplicating your china plates. Next we will be moving on to –"

" _Hem hem,"_ said Umbridge a tad bit louder.

"Yes?"

"I was just wondering Professor whether you received my note telling you the date and time of my –"

"One would think," Minerva said, cutting her off. "That it would be clear that I did. Otherwise, I would be wondering what you were doing in my classroom." Minerva turned around and started to instruct the students on the intricacies of duplicating a living thing. "Professor Potter, is there anything you would like to add?" She asked, her eyes sparkling mischievously.

"Thank you, Professor," Harry replied with a nod as he grabbed his staff and joined her at the front of the room. "Keep in mind that, no matter how perfect you duplicate something, it will never be more than just that: a copy. As a construct made from magic, it will inevitably return to being magic, as opposed to the original –"

" _Hem hem."_

"Professor Umbridge, I'm afraid that I must insist that you go see Madam Pomfrey," Minerva said coldly. "I'm sure that she can give you something for that cough so that you won't have to worry about interrupting any other classes."

"I was just curious as to whether you are always content with allowing children to teach each other in your classes, Professor," Umbridge replied.

"It is common practice for students who have already mastered the practical portion of an assignment to help each other," Minerva replied. "Of course, a class would need to have a practical portion to understand how this benefits both student and teacher." Umbridge's turned red, and Minerva continued without a care. "Unless, of course, you're referring to me allowing Professor Potter to speak in class? In which case, I would remind you that Professor Potter is an adult, as can be plainly seen by the signet rings on his hand, and has valuable insights into the nature of magic that makes him an asset to whomever he is assisting."

Umbridge scowled and wrote something down on her clipboard angrily, while Harry and Minerva ignored her and continued with teaching the students the more complex parts of the Doubling Charm. She didn't say a word after that, and after about thirty minutes she left in huff, slamming the door behind her. The rest of the class went with very little issue until Harry noticed Seamus, Dean, and Ron whispering to each other and throwing glances towards Daphne and Tracey. Harry worried about what they were planning, and offered them both a quiet warning once class was over. He leaned on his staff as he waited for the fourth years, and smiled when Luna waved enthusiastically to him before taking a seat with one of her friends in Hufflepuff.

Once lunch had come and gone, Harry made his way outside to the fourth year Care for Magical Creatures class. Zephyr had decided to join him, and was perched on his shoulder as he crossed the grounds leisurely. He grinned and started sprinting, though, when he noticed smoke coming out of the chimney on top of Hagrid's cabin and saw a familiar mountainous form walking out the door. Zephyr squawked in indignation at nearly losing his footing and took off to meet Harry at the bottom of the hill near the entrance to the Forbidden Forest.

"Hagrid!" Harry exclaimed happily. Hagrid turned and smiled wrapping Harry in a crushing hug once he saw who it was. Harry noticed that his face looked more like a pile of ground meat with a beard and frowned. "What happened to your face?"

"Good to see ye too, Harry," Hagrid grunted good-naturedly. "'M afraid the answer to that question is classified though."

Harry understood that to mean it had to with the Order of the Phoenix and shrugged. If it was truly important, he had other ways to find out. "You're good to start teaching again, though, right?"

"Ain't nothin' stoppin' me," Hagrid replied with a wry grin. "Not even some lady from the Ministry."

"That's good to hear," Harry said. "Though, I should warn you. She's extremely prejudiced. It might be best to avoid some of the more interesting creatures for a while."

"Whaddya mean by that?"

"I mean that she absolutely despises half-breeds, and is going to be looking for even the tiniest reason to give you the sack," Harry replied bluntly.

Hagrid nodded seriously. "Don' worry, I'll make sure tha' everything is above board. No more Skrewts." They both chuckled nostalgically, and Hagrid eyed Harry's staff. "Tha's some staff yeh got there, Harry. Whassit for?"

"It's kind of my new wand," Harry replied.

"Blimey, I'm gone for a few months an' you go and turn yerself into some sort of sorcerer," Hagrid exclaimed with a booming laugh.

Harry grinned as the third years approached and was relieved to see that Wilhelmina was among them, meaning that he would have someone to help him rein in Hagrid. Just in case.

Luckily, Hagrid simply had the third years feeding flobberworms, which meant that the class was fairly dull. He seemed to heed Harry's warning for the rest of the afternoon, and Harry headed back to his office with a sigh of relief. He smiled as he ran into Daphne in the Great Hall.

"So, I received a letter from our oldest friends this morning," Daphne said nonchalantly as she fell into step behind him.

"What did they say?" Harry asked, curious as to why the Flamels would be sending letters to Daphne and not him.

"Among other things, it said that I'm the one who's supposed to be wearing that fancy ring they gave you," Daphne said. "Turns out that agreeing to be your confidante involves more than just being someone you can talk to about the stuff you're going to be doing for them."

"Really?"

Daphne nodded. "I'm supposed to act as a sort of handler. They send me the missions and communicate through me as well. I'm also supposed to help whoever they send to pretend to be you with fooling everyone else."

"I guess there are worse people to suddenly start managing my life as an agent for an ancient secret society," Harry conceded with a sigh. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the diamond ring that he had been carrying around with him since his meeting with the Flamels. Daphne grinned and slipped it on her finger, and he couldn't help but think that she seemed a little too excited at the prospect of being in charge of him.

"With that out of the way," Harry said as they passed the sixth floor. "Did you have any issues concerning my little warning this morning?"

Daphne shook her head. "No, but I doubt that those three could really come up with anything worth being concerned about."

The moment they said this, a shriek tore through the air in the direction of Harry's office. "This is somehow your fault," Harry told her before taking off at a sprint towards the soured of the commotion. Daphne rolled her eyes before following and they rounded the corner to see Tracey and Blaise angrily dueling with Ron, Dean, and Seamus. The two of them seemed to have an advantage over the three Gryffindors, but Harry also noticed that Tracey was hurling what looked to be some very dangerous curse.

Snapping into action as a cutting curse narrowly missed his shoulder, Harry slammed his staff on the ground and all five of them were suddenly frozen in place and disarmed.

"What is going on here?!" He shouted angrily.

Harry turned to Tracey and finally got a good look at her. Her long brown hair had been sheared to a short pixie cut and turned purple, while boils spread across her face in the shape of the words _I Love Huffle-Muff_. Harry's anger rose and he whirled around to glare balefully at his former housemates.

"Are you three responsible for this?" He asked coolly.

None of them responded as a wave of fear seemed to have stolen their voices. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Tracey and Blaise and unfroze them. He waved his staff in front of Tracey's face and the words scrawled across it disappeared.

"Did they do anything else to you?" Harry asked.

"They burned her bag," Blaise reported while Daphne wrapped her arms around Tracey. "I happened upon them and threw the first curse as they had her pinned to the wall and were cutting her hair." He looked around and seemed to notice where he was, his eyes wide. "Not sure how we ended up here, though. We were just on second floor a few minutes ago."

"In my office, all of you," Harry barked, unfreezing the other three. "Now!"

Ron, Seamus, and Dean scurried past him and Harry took a deep breath before summoning Dobby and telling him to fetch Poppy, Minerva, and Severus.

He marched into his office and seated himself behind his desk. "Your Heads of House are on their way. In the meantime, I'm going to get my bit out of the way." He took another deep breath and turned to Blaise and Tracey. "Blaise, Tracey, while I can't fault you for defending yourselves, should I ever catch you using hexes of that caliber on students again, I'll send you to Dumbledore myself, understand?"

Blaise and Tracey both nodded. They had gone a little overboard, and were firing spells that could have done serious damage. Harry whirled on the other three just as the door to his office opened and Severus and Minerva marched in. Severus was furious the moment he saw Tracey's condition and looked to be moments away from cursing the other three. Minerva didn't look very far behind either as Harry addressed them.

"Professors," Harry said. "I called you here so that you might help me come up with an appropriate punishment, as I'm a little too close to the situation to make a fair call."

"I think thirty points from Gryffindor each would be an appropriate start," Minerva said as Poppy finally arrived and marched straight over to Tracey.

"Professor Snape, what would you say to three cauldron-cleaners stopping by during the weekends?" Harry asked.

"I think that I could suffer their presence for the remainder of the year," Severus hissed.

"What?!" Ron shouted. "But that's not fair."

"It was just a harmless prank," Seamus said.

"Yeah," Dean added. "In the spirit of Halloween and everything."

Everyone else in the room cringed as that was the exact wrong thing to say in Harry's presence.

"What you three did was needlessly cruel," Minerva said before Harry had a chance to properly explode. "I have never been more ashamed of three of my own."

"Not only did you assault a student," Harry said once he had regained some composure. "But you had the _gall_ to try and make her ashamed of who she loves. And you had better pray that Susan doesn't tell the rest of Hufflepuff, otherwise the remainder of your time at Hogwarts will be _very_ unpleasant. Now, get out of my sight." His eyes flashed and the three boys scurried from his office with their tails between their legs.

"It was very mature of you to call us here, Harry," Minerva said while Harry sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"I needed to make sure there was someone here who would stop me from hexing them all into oblivion. Though, part of me was still hoping Severus would, just so I could avoid punishment myself."

Severus grunted, but his expression morphed back to concern when Daphne gasped and suddenly pressed a hand to her temple.

"Miss Greengrass, are you quite alright?" Minerva asked.

Harry stood up and immediately made his way over to help Daphne. "Your room. Now," she muttered as Harry wrapped a hand around her shoulders. He nodded and grabbed his staff before escorting her out of the office.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked once the door was closed and warded against eavesdropping.

"I just figured out how you're going to be receiving your missions," Daphne muttered as bright light flashed between them before fading to reveal a worn knut. "Kind of rude beaming the information directly into my head like that, though."

"I take it this is a portkey?" Harry assumed.

Daphne nodded and plucked a few hairs from his head to give to his impersonator when they arrived. Panic surged through their bond as she received more details on his mission. "There's a coven of witches in Italy that are being attacked right now. The report states that there are aurors and Order members there right now, but they're having trouble. Harry, my mum's there! The Death Eaters outnumber them three to one!"

Harry pulled her close and held her for several moments. "Don't worry. I'll make sure she's fine."

Without another word, Harry grabbed the portkey and felt the familiar tug behind his navel before stumbling behind a crumbled brick wall. They were in a battlefield filled with ruined buildings and the sound of panicked screams as people were cut down without remorse. Dust mingled with smoke, filling the air and choking his lungs.

"Harry?" He looked to his left and saw his godfather staring at him in shock. "The hell are you doing here?"

Rather than answer, Harry shot a spell over their cover and they heard a scream followed by a sickening crunch. "Got word that there was a coven being attacked by Death Eaters," Harry replied. "Daphne's mum is here, so I came to help."

Sirius didn't get a chance to reply as their cover was blown to smithereens and Harry snapped into action, his eyes and his staff glowing with power as he flung spells with practiced ease. They were fighting in a small street, and both sides were using the blown out storefronts as cover while hurling spells back and forth. There were pops and screams as the Anti-Killing-Curse Rune Harry carried with him at all times started going to work and Death Eater after Death Eater collapsed with shrieks of agony as frozen air exploded in their faces.

Harry spotted a group of women crouched behind the blown out front of what looked to be the remains of a clothing store and sprinted towards them, conjuring a wall of quartz between them and the Death Eaters across the street just in time to block a powerful yellow-brown curse and dive behind the cover.

"Harry?!" Penelope cried as he crouched with them. She was covered in soot and grime, and there was a nasty gash on her arm that Harry started to heal without prodding.

"I'm here to help," Harry said. "What's the situation?"

"There are about forty Death Eaters spread about the street," Sirius said as he joined them. "They appeared at both ends of the street and started attacking indiscriminately. We managed to evacuate most of the people, but now we're pinned down and taking heavy fire while trying to protect whoever's left."

As if to prove his point, a powerful Blasting Hex destroyed Harry's wall, and they all flinched. Harry looked up and saw that there were still a few people fighting further down the street, and had to do a double take as he saw a witch with startling red hair dive into another shop before three Death Eaters were viciously thrown out, slamming into a wall across the street with crunch. Crouching back down, Harry reached into his pocket and handed the diamond inscribed with runes to Sirius.

"We need to draw their fire." Turning to Penelope and the other witches, who he presumed were members of the coven that lived here he grinned roguishly. "Ladies, I'm afraid that I have to apologise in advance for all the property damage."

"Oh, this can't be good," Penelope groaned.

Harry winked and pointed his staff into the air where he released a bright ball of light that exploded above the street blinding everyone and giving him a chance to leap out of cover and transform mid-jump. By the time people had regained their sight, they all froze once more as a pair of earth shattering roars heralded a thirty-foot dragon charging down one end of the street, while a pitch black chimera attacked the others.

"I guess that's one way of getting their attention," Sirius quipped as he leapt into the streets and started attacking the panicked Death Eaters as they tried to take down the two nigh-invulnerable beasts. None of them had seen Harry transform, so none of them knew that the monster currently tearing them apart in a flurry of teeth and claws and flames was an animagus and could be stopped with a relatively simple charm. Sirius ran over to where Amelia was with Remus, fighting a pair of Death Eaters and grinned when their Killing Curses exploded in their faces.

"Is that Kyddris?!" Remus shouted as the dragon tore through everything in his way. With Sirius and the Rune close enough to stop the one curse that could cause him serious harm (albeit, even then it would require a precise shot to the eye), Kyddris was free to unleash a rain of devastation as he followed Harry's example, shrugging off every spell that was thrown his way.

"How did Harry know to come here?" Amelia demanded as she threw a powerful stunner at her enemy and turned to fight one of the Death Eaters currently trying to flee. The street had already been reduced to a war zone, but now that there were two fire-breathing monsters running about, there was nothing but chaos and confusion among the tightly knit Death Eater ranks.

"I don't know," Sirius replied. "But they're providing us with a distraction. We need to finish up with the evacuation before Kyddris' defences are broken or someone realises how to counter Nightfire."

Nightfire charged through the pathetic human spells and sank his teeth into another of the Dark Men. There was a familiar scent in the air that he couldn't place, but it ignited a protective fury in him on par with what he felt towards threats to his Sunshine. He snarled and flapped his wing, soaring high into the air and diving through a window as three Dark Men tried to hide from him, and he made quick work of them; crushing one with a swat of his mighty paw, his blade-like claws rending flesh from bone as he sent the man spiralling away, before releasing a jet of flame that incinerated the other two. Following his nose, he spotted the woman with the fire hair, and again felt that familiar protective rage as she dueled against five of the remaining Dark Men, valiantly protecting a group of Small Ones who were huddled together against a wall.

Roaring in fury as the Fire Hair was struck with a curse that made her hand crumple in strange angles, bits of bone sticking out at some parts, he roared furiously as she screamed in pain – the sound shockingly familiar for some reason – and leapt clear over her head to land on the center Dark Man, swinging his tail to launch two others into the air with a crunch while his claws severed the legs from another and the last was caught with his neck between Nightfire's mighty jaws before being beheaded with feral ease, his blood dripping down Nightfire's lips. Throwing the severed head away, Nightfire looked up and down the street, having gotten the all clear from Kyddris, he looked towards the witches he had protected and was met with bright green eyes that he only ever saw in photographs and his own reflection.

All of his senses told him who she was, and he wanted desperately to approach her, but the rational side of his mind kicked and screamed _TRAP!_ After that, he ignored what his senses were telling him and transformed back into Harry before quickly grabbing the imposter and apparating away. They arrived at their destination in the Forbidden Forest, just outside the Hogwarts wards, and he violently threw the fake Lily Potter to the ground.

"Who are you?!" He shouted, his anger threatening to boil over. He pointed his staff at her and the dragon core in the head glowed brightly while the little flame inside flickered angrily.

"My name is Lily Eva –"

"Do _not_ lie!" Harry bellowed. "You will tell me who you are, what you're doing impersonating Lily Potter, and how you're doing it, or you they'll be sending what's left of you to Azkaban in a bucket."

The impersonator tried to raise her wand, but Harry disarmed her with a snarl. "I am _not_ in the mood for games," he growled. "Especially tonight. Now tell me, is this Riddle's version of psychological warfare, or something?"

"No! I don't even know who that –"

Once again she was cut off as he picked her up by the collar and slammed her into the trunk of a nearby tree making her cry out in pain and surprise. Whoever this strange man was, Lily thought, he was understandably skeptical yet confusingly angry for someone who had just saved her neck not five minutes ago. "I'm going to make this _very_ clear," he muttered darkly. "You're dying right here. Tonight. Whether or not it will be very painful, all depends on you. Now, _why are you impersonating my mother?"_

"Y-Your mother?" The woman gasped as tears flooded her eyes. "H-Harry? Is it really you?"

Harry snarled and fought down the desire to embrace the imposter. All of his sense were screaming at him that this was, in fact, his mother, and it broke his heart that someone would go to such lengths to hurt him like this. "I asked you a question," Harry rumbled, his eyes glowing and his fur starting to sprout. "Answer it."

"Harry, it's me," the woman choked as Harry pushed her harder against the tree. "Sweetheart, it's your mum."

" _My mother died!"_ Harry roared. "And you have the _gall_ to insult her memory with this charade of yours! Now, tell me who you are!"

"Harry, please," the Faux Lily begged. "Baby, I swear, it's really me." She gasped as Harry unleashed a furious mental assault. Her not insignificant defences were torn through like tissue paper, and he plowed through her mind, searching for her deepest secrets. He stopped when he found himself watching from her perspective as she begged Riddle to take her instead and spare the little boy crying behind her, and released her as quickly as he had attacked her. He dropped her to the ground and stumbled backwards, horrified.

"M-Mum," he stammered. "It's really you." He flickered in place as he suddenly apparated away and returned within moments, having fetched Kyddris, who was now securely in his tattoo form and sending waves of comforting emotion through him. Moments later, he seemed to harden as he recomposed himself and reached into a pocket of his robes and pulled out his Invisibility Cloak. "Put it on and stay quiet," he ordered as he tossed it to her before turning around and marching back towards Hogwarts.

Lily was confused at the rapid shift of tone, but couldn't help but smile fondly as she caught the familiar cloak and wrapped it around herself. Harry could sense that she was following closely behind as he walked firmly back towards Hogwarts, making sure to take all the abandoned hallways on the way back to his office. His mind was a roiling storm of emotions and confusion and he longed for Daphne's comforting presence, or the calming distraction that came when speaking to Bella. Lily followed quietly behind her son, and was shocked when she saw the words _Professor Potter_ written on a gold plaque on a door she didn't remember ever seeing on the seventh floor. Harry opened the door, and she followed him in, watching in shock as a blonde missile collided with him and wrapped him in a tight hug.

"Are you –" the girl asked haltingly.

"I'm fine," Harry said quietly as he pulled away. "There's someone here you should meet."

Daphne stared wide-eyed as Harry's dead mother appeared from underneath the Invisibility Cloak.

"Hello," Lily said somewhat awkwardly, noting how the blonde girl seemed to step forward and place herself protectively between her and Harry. "I'm Lily. Harry's mum."


	28. Chapter 28

Harry sighed as he bid the last of the students good night. He didn't think that he had been gone all that long, but apparently time flies when you're fighting Death Eaters. When he and his miraculously revived mother had arrived it was well into dinner, and he had to sit through the next two hours starving. According to Daphne, his replacement had been a right git to her, and had left as soon as dinner started, stating that their job was finished as he was done with his mission. Apparently the Circle wasn't as accommodating as the Flamels made them out to be, and Harry was more than a little irked at the fact that whoever had covered for him had been so rude to Daphne. His stress was only increased as he felt Lily's eyes following him every moment from beneath his Invisibility Cloak. He sighed and closed the door before turning around to see Daphne curled up on the couch with Rosie, watching him with a concerned expression.

 _Don't worry,_ Zephyr said from his perch on Harry's shoulder, nuzzling his head against Harry's cheek.

 _No matter what happens, we're with you,_ Kyddris added.

Harry smiled and closed his eyes. "You can come out now."

His mother pulled off the cloak, but her attention was fixed on the picture he kept of her and his father on his mantelpiece. There was a small bluebell flame flickering in front of it that Harry had cast that morning, and the light from it danced off her verdant eyes.

"I remember when we took this," Lily murmured. "Your father was going stir crazy, and was so happy to get out of the house that he danced like a loon all morning."

"So, what were you doing helping to defend a coven of witches in Italy?" Harry asked bluntly. He still didn't feel prepared to address the fact that his mother had returned from the dead, and had decided that he was going to get straight to the more pertinent subjects first.

"I used to study with them," Lily said, turning to face him. She examined the scarred face of the man before her and took a deep shuddering breath. "When I was studying for my Charms Mastery, your father and I lived in Italy for a year while I studied with them. Of course, he wasn't allowed inside – normally, when they aren't being accosted by squads of Death Eaters, men aren't allowed inside of a Coven – but that didn't stop him from making everyone blush with his antics every morning when he dropped me off. I've been working to re-establish some of those old connections, and was visiting when the attack started."

"Wait," Daphne interrupted. "How long have you been back?"

"A little under a year," Lily admitted, flushing with shame as she knew where this was going.

Harry stiffened and Daphne narrowed her eyes. "And in all that time, you didn't _think_ to maybe tell the boy you left an orphan that you were back?"

"And just how was I supposed to do that?" Lily retorted defensively. "Just send him a letter that said _Hi Harry, it's me, your mum! Guess what? I'm back from the dead and want to see you!"_

"One would think that the brightest witch of her generation would be able to figure that out," Daphne replied coolly, nonplussed in the face of Lily's fiery temper.

"I had!" Lily exclaimed. "I was planning on introducing myself during your next Hogsmeade weekend."

"I don't go to Hogsmeade," Harry said quietly. "I'd rather use the time to work on my research and get my marking done."

"Research? Marking?" Lily parroted confusedly.

"I'm a professor," Harry replied. "The job involves occasionally marking homework."

"I saw the sign on the door," Lily said softly. "How does a fifteen year old boy get a position teaching at Hogwarts?"

Harry shrugged. "Hard work and dedication, I suppose."

Lily whistled lowly and placed her hands on her hips. "I guess I was wrong to worry about choosing Sirius to be your godfather."

Daphne flinched and Harry's eyes seemed to freeze. "I wasn't raised by Sirius," he muttered.

Lily opened her mouth to ask for some sort of clarification when a soft knock on the door forced her back under the Cloak while Harry picked up his staff and went to answer the door.

He pulled the door open and scowled as he was met with the ghastly pink mess that was Dolores Umbridge. "Can I help you?" Harry asked pointedly.

"My, my, Mister Potter, how very rude of you," Umbridge said, her voice dripping with toxic sweetness. "When one opens the door, they are supposed to properly greet their visitor before inviting them inside."

"I assure you, if I were to be visited by someone who was welcome or merited my respect, they'd be treated with the height of civility," Harry grunted. "Now tell me what you want or get out."

"I came to speak with you about your poor conduct," Umbridge said. "And to inform you that the Minister would be hearing a _very_ detailed report about it if you didn't improve."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "And what conduct would that be?"

"For starters, making a show of carrying that… weapon of yours around wherever you go," Dolores said, eyeing his staff almost hungrily. She flinched back when the twin serpents unwound themselves and spread their wings as they reared back to try and snap at her.

"My staff is no more a weapon than a wand is," Harry said. "There are no laws against having one, or carrying it with me. However, they are registered as personal artifacts with the Ministry, and attempts to steal or confiscate them rarely end well."

"That sounded dangerously close to a threat," Umbridge said gleefully.

"Nonsense," Harry replied. "Simply reminding you of how _your_ Ministry operates."

"Be that as it may, your lackadaisical behaviour with missing an important feast is worthy of note, and a blatant disregard of your duties as a member of staff."

"I think you'll find it hard to prosecute me for taking time to myself to mourn the two people who are responsible for today being such an important date, Dolores. On top of that, as I have stated before, it is Hogwarts herself who dictates my tenure as a professor within these walls, and neither you nor the Minister can do anything about it."

Without another word, he slammed the door in her face and turned around with a sigh only to be met with a furious Lily.

"What do you mean Sirius didn't raise you?" She demanded.

"He was framed for betraying you and Dad, as well as for murdering Pettigrew and twelve Muggles," Harry said. "Spent twelve years in Azkaban before breaking out."

"So who did you live with?"

"Your sister," Harry said through gritted teeth.

Lily reared back as she remembered her sister's distaste for everything magical. "Oh. Well… it's good to hear she had a change of heart, I guess. I'll have to thank her for taking you in over all these years."

Harry snorted. "Oh yeah, I'm real grateful." He then placed a hand on Daphne's shoulder and marched himself up to his room.

"Was it something I said?" Lily asked.

"I think it's safe to say that your sister wasn't as loving to Harry as you think," Daphne replied.

"What do you mean?"

"That's not for me to say."

"The hell it isn't!" Lily replied angrily. "I'm his mother! I have a right to know what happened with my son."

Daphne hesitated. She did have a point, but Daphne could also feel the turmoil Harry was feeling, and knew that this was something he had to talk about himself. She had only just started earning enough of his trust to hear quiet admissions in the dark pertaining to his past, and there was no way she was going to break that.

"You're his mother, but you aren't his Mum," Daphne replied icily as she stood up. "You still have to earn that title." With that she marched up to Harry's room, where she found him curled up in the dark. She quickly changed into her pyjamas and slid in behind him, facing away so that he could roll around and wrap his arms around her. She held him close and listened to his ragged breathing, ignoring the sensation of tears leaking through the back of her shirt. It was always easier for him to open up if he was holding her. That way he could pretend, at least, that he was the one providing comfort.

"She's back," he murmured brokenly before his breathing settled and he fell asleep, no doubt going to speak with Bella, whom she knew he found to be a source of comfort.

The next morning, his room was kind enough to provide him the mind-bending door to the Black Lake without having to go out into his office. He threw himself into his laps and thanked the Giant Squid for its many-armed hug that nearly crushed him to a pulp as he made his way back. Daphne was still in bed when he arrived and he smiled as she raised her head and stared blearily at him before grunting and dragging him back to bed, barely giving himself time to dry and transfigure his wetsuit. She pulled him back into place wrapped around her, and he growled as she wiggled her hips against him, reminding him that he was, indeed, a red-blooded male in bed with the most beautiful girl he had ever met. She giggled as she achieved the desired reaction, grinning broadly when, instead of slamming up his defenses in order to control himself, and mumbling an apology as he usually did, Harry buried his face in her hair, pulling her close to him as he grumbled about cold feet and playing with fire.

His fingers skimmed along the bottom of her shirt and she had to fight down a groan as he brushed against the smooth skin of her stomach. He did no more than that, but she was sure that she was slowly breaking down his defences, and knew that there was most likely a long, difficult conversation in their near future as their relationship continued to change. Before any further escalations took place, Daphne had resolved to tell him about the prophecy he had made in their third year, as well as the one that Trelawney had made to her the year before. She, Professor Snape, and Zephyr had deliberated at length about whether to reveal it to him, but they had eventually agreed that, despite their good intentions at first, Harry deserved to know. Snape in particular was adamant about this, and Daphne couldn't help but think that there was something else that he was keeping to himself. On top of that, she could still sense Harry's tumultuous emotions concerning their feelings for each other.

He seemed to have started to identify that his feelings for her were more than platonic in nature, but now he was confused about how much his bestial half was affecting his desires. Daphne was well aware that it was Nightfire whom she was appealing to as she slipped his hand just underneath her shirt, holding her own over it as he spread his calloused fingers across the smooth plain of her stomach. She often spoke with Zephyr about that while Harry trained.

 _You act as if they are actually two separate beings,_ Zephyr had said before flying off to throw a bolt of lightning at Harry that he had easily dodged. Daphne admitted that he had a point. They had given Harry's other half a name out of respect for the Marauders, but it had come with the cost of separating the chimera from the man, when they were, in fact, one and the same. Nightfire may have been the name they attributed to Harry in his animagus form, but, despite its more feral nature, the creature _was_ one hundred percent Harry. The feelings they produced were his own. Getting him to see that, though, would be an entirely different matter. Without meaning to, she thought back to the prophecy Harry had made. _For if his Heart he does question… What once was balance will be despair._

She and Snape had already worked together with Blaise, Tracey, and Neville to decipher a good portion of the prophecy. They knew that the White King was most likely Dumbledore, and, while it had taken some time due to the prophecy saying he was young, the only possibility for the Black King was Riddle, who was nearly fifty years Dumbledore's junior. Tracey had been the one to figure out what it had meant by Avalon. Apparently, it was some form of magical paradise that Merlin had lived in. Only it had disappeared after he died, and not long after that, non-magicals began ostracizing and hating wizards and witches, resulting in the Statute of Secrecy eventually being created. Daphne was flattered that she was the most likely candidate for both the title of _treasure_ and _Heart_ , but it filled her with guilt and dread whenever she thought about the line concerning her having control of Harry. It was for that reason why she wasn't normally a fan of Tracey's teasing her for having him wrapped around her finger, because she knew she really did. Harry would gladly do anything for her, and she shuddered at the amount of power that gave her. He had admitted that he knew she was the only one who could really make him change his mind once it had been made up, and while that kept him out of doing certain acts of stupidity, for the most part she was just worried about the amount of responsibility that had been thrusted upon her. Harry was destined for great things, and it was her job to guide him towards that destination.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a great deal of shouting coming from Harry's office, and without a thought, Harry grabbed his staff and charged out, Daphne not far behind. They arrived to find Lily with her wand out, facing off against Remus and Sirius.

"I don't know who you are, but you're not getting anywhere near Harry!" Sirius barked.

"That's enough!" Harry shouted, somehow still managing to strike an imposing figure while wearing only black sweat pants and a black hoodie that was unzipped, revealing his toned, scarred, dark haired chest. Everyone froze to look at him and he glared at him like he would school children. "I know it's hard to believe, but I've checked, and it's really her."

"You're sure, Harry?" Remus asked as he stowed his wand in his robe and walked over to put a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry nodded tiredly and both Sirius and Remus immediately changed from skeptical and battle-ready to ecstatic as they whooped and tightly embraced Lily, tears running freely down their cheeks. Lily grinned and laughed with her old friends, sharing memories from over two decades ago when her gaze fell upon Harry and the – in her opinion – rather rude girl he was sitting next to. Her eyes widened when she saw the scars across his chest, and she marched over and pushed him back to examine them, as well as the ones on his face. She recognised the small lightning bolt as most likely being a result of Voldemort's curse, but the other one that tore across his face, as well as the three on his torso, looked like claw marks.

"What happened to you?" She demanded, only to startle back as Harry recoiled from her touch and shot to his feet. He marched into his room, with a glaring Daphne not far behind and emerged minutes later dressed in his finely tailored suit and robes while she was dressed in her school uniform. Lily's eyes widened when she saw the familiar snake emblem and green tie but she didn't have a chance to say anything as Harry merely declared that they would speak after he was done with classes and marched out of his office. Tears flooded Lily's eyes as her own son gave her the brush off, and she nearly collapsed into heartbroken sobs when Remus gently wrapped his arms around her.

"His life's not been easy since you and James passed, Lily," Sirius murmured as he rubbed her back.

"I just… I just thought he would at least be _happy_ to see me," Lily choked out as tears streamed down her face.

"He wants to be," Remus replied softly. "But I think he's still waiting for the other shoe to drop. He doesn't want to get his hopes up."

"What am I supposed to do then?" Lily asked desperately. "James and I barely knew what we were doing with a baby, how am I supposed to be his mother now?"

"I… I don't think you can be, Lily," Sirius said sadly. "There was already a woman that tried to mother him, and Harry more than chafed under her overbearing attitude. The most you can do is just be there for him."

"What was he even doing there that night? All those Death Eaters and he just…"

"We saw," Sirius interrupted. "I don't like it any more than you do, but there's no stopping him."

"But he's just a child!"

"Lily, he duelled him." Remus said. "He duelled him and managed to escape with his life. There has never been anyone who has survived a duel with him."

"Harry is one of the most powerful and accomplished wizards I've ever met, Lily," Sirius added. "I doubt even you and James together would be able to consistently beat him in a duel. Merlin knows Moony and I can't."

*(OoO)*

Daphne sighed in irritation as she waited for Professor Snape. Harry had vanished to go to his meeting with Dumbledore after they left his office and she hadn't seen him since. She relaxed as the gentle tapping of his staff on the stone floors heralded his arrival to the Potions classroom.

"How'd it go?" She asked as he took a seat at his desk – which just so happened to be right near where she usually sat.

"He asked to examine it," Harry replied, propping a leg up against his chest and resting his staff between it and the one stretched out lazily towards the fall. "I told him he could, if he was willing to let me examine his wand. Something about it doesn't feel quite right. That shut him up real fast until he tried to play it off as a dangerous artifact. Once again I directed him back to his wand."

"That doesn't sound too bad," Daphne said.

"It wasn't our conversation that I'm confused about," Harry replied. "I saw some hairs on his robes."

"So? The man's beard is nearly as long as he is, I'm pretty sure he a couple of lost hairs won't bother him."

"Normally, I'd agree with you, except for the fact that they were _brown_ and yet I could smell that they were definitely his. I think our oldest friend was right about being lied to."

Daphne's eyes widened, but she didn't have a chance to say anything as Professor Snape barged into the classroom and set them to work on their Draughts of Peace. Harry remained seated for most of the class, focussed on a project of his own.

Floating in front of him was a small ball of light that he had conjured and was examining closely. Daphne watched out of the corner of his eye as he would occasionally mumble something, or move his staff in different ways. Occasionally he would reach out and seem to pluck at invisible threads in the air. Each time he did something, the light would react in a variety of ways, growing or shrinking in size and brightness, causing it to move or spin about, changing its colours. Once in a while, Professor Snape would walk over to observe him before offering his thoughts on whatever it was Harry was doing. She was just about to add the powdered porcupine quills to her potion when there was a burning sensation on her finger and she gasped as more information was beamed into her mind.

Harry picked up on it, and approached her to ask what was wrong.

"Another mission," she muttered. "They're attacking the coven again." Harry nodded and told Professor Snape that she needed to go to the Hospital Wing before pulling Daphne out without another word.

"Tell me what I'm going to be up against," Harry said as they jogged up the stairs.

"My mother, Abra, and some Italian aurors are holed up at a church with the people displaced from yesterday's attack, but our sources say that they're going to be easily overwhelmed. I also received a message saying to make sure Harry Potter is the one helping this time, not a pair of monsters."

Harry growled and picked up his pace. "I guess the Circle thinks I should be capitalizing on my fame."

They burst through the door to Harry's office and Daphne found herself in the awkward position of having to explain to Remus, Lily, and Sirius how the Harry they were currently sitting with was actually an imposter as Harry sprinted up to his room.

"Harry?" Lily asked. "What's going on?"

"That's someone using Polyjuice to cover for Harry," Daphne explained as all three adults pointed their wands at the impersonator. "He has to go, so the imposter comes to make sure no one misses him."

"Are you daft, girl?" The fake Harry shouted. "Your job is to not reveal our secrets!"

"And I haven't," Daphne replied. "They don't know about where he's going or what he's going to do."

"No, but we're about to," Sirius growled.

"Sorry," Daphne said with a shrug. "This particular secret is protected by mental Fidelius charms. I couldn't tell you if I wanted to. I'm just Harry's confidante. By the way, you walked out of the Potions class saying I needed to get to the Hospital Wing. I suggest you get back before Professor Snape gets suspicious."

The fake Harry growled and ran out of the room, while Daphne just smirked and shut the door behind him. He could perfectly imitate Harry's personality and mannerisms when he wanted, but she had the unique pleasure of dealing with the git who was beneath the disguise.

"A mental Fidelius," Lily said, awestruck. "I had thought that they were only a theory."

"Guess not," Daphne said as she sat down and pulled out her homework for the day, ignoring the various attempts of the other three to try and con information pertaining to Harry's whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Harry's Portkey deposited him outside the church and he strolled up the steps to knock on the door, grinning when Blaise's mother, Abra, opened it to greet him.

"I heard you all needed some help?"

"I don't know how you keep showing up, but I'm not about to complain," Abra said as she pulled Harry inside where he saw about fifty women and girls of varying ages all huddled amongst the upturned pews while at the altar at the back of the room, Penelope spoke with an older, dark-skinned man who looked very much like Blaise and about eight people whom Harry assumed to be the Italian aurors. "Harry Potter, this is my father, Alfonzo Zabini."

" _It's an honour to meet you, sir,_ " Harry said in Italian. "What are we looking at?"

"It would seem that the Death Eaters are returning to finish what they started," Penelope explained. "They've been bolstering their ranks by hiring entire bands of mercenaries, as well as including all sorts of Dark creatures. Our scout reported at least another fifty humans and just as many dementors. They aren't more than an hour away."

"Then we better get to work," Harry said as he turned to address the scared women. "Ladies, I know you're all scared!" He shouted, garnering the attention of everyone inside the church. "It can be terrifying to have everything you know suddenly ripped away from you. But if you let that fear stop you from acting, then you might as well throw open those doors and invite those men in to kill you and your families. However, if you seize that fear; if you grab it and hold it close, let it fuel you, let it push you to fight harder and think smarter, then you'll find that you can overcome anything, and before you know it, you won't be afraid anymore. Now, I need everyone who is of age with me outside!"

A majority of the women stood up and hesitantly followed him outside where he put them to work transfiguring and conjuring all sorts of defences. As they worked, he moved between them, exchanging a word here and there, and slowly their fear bled away. He led them in gouging a massive trench around the church, which he filled with water and filled with all sorts of transfigured beasts. Kyddris and Zephyr joined him, and Zephyr grew to his full size, about thirty feet from the tip of his beak to his tail feathers (granted those counted for about ten feet on their own), with eight dark wings, the largest of which had a wingspan of over fifty feet. Storm clouds filled the air as he flapped his mighty wings, and the defenders watched in awe as he and Kyddris took to the skies. Harry started to conjure small stone soldiers, who arranged themselves into a phalanx formation in front of the church, and Penelope and Abra added their own touches by conjuring a pair of serpents made out of stone. While Harry, Alfonzo, and his aurors started throwing up every ward they knew around the church to ensure the safety of those within.

All too soon, the air started to cool rapidly and Harry noticed Alfonzo gulp nervously.

 _I guess this'll be good practice for Azkaban,_ Harry thought to himself as he thought about a night spent at Potter Manor over the summer where he and Daphne were simply sitting with their animal companions in the library, curled up on a couch in front of the fireplace. He remembered the feeling of her hair flowing through his fingertips and added to it the feeling of her soft skin as she had guided his hand beneath her shirt that morning. He felt his magic straining to erupt as he remembered the way her smile made a room light up, while her soft, tinkling laugh made his heart skip a beat – especially when she would occasionally lose her composure, and a very unladylike snort would erupt from her, causing her to freeze and blush in mortification. He imagined her grumbling when he complained about her feet being cold, and the sly smirk he knew she wore when she would scoot back in his arms and wiggle her hips in that teasing way of hers. Raising his staff into the air, just as the first of the dementors appeared over a hill about half a mile away, Harry's emotions were so overpowering that he didn't even have it in him to shout. He lost himself in his memories, and murmured the incantation so softly, that only Penelope, Abra, and Alfonzo – who were all standing right near him – could hear.

" _Expecto Patronum."_

An explosion of silver light erupted from his staff, and threw everyone nearby off their feet, while a fifty foot wyvern exploded out of his staff, breathing a stream of silvery fire before taking to the sky to join Zephyr and Kyddris in combating the dementors as they were repelled by the initial burst of light. Even the humans running behind the spectral creatures were buffeted by the force of the spell and hesitated as they saw a lone figure standing before them with a staff raised high in the air while the dementors shrieked in agony as they were obliterated by the corporeal Patronus.

The humans seemed to regain their wits, and resumed their charge, sprinting through the shallow mote with laughs of deranged glee before the first alligator managed to kill someone. Harry waited until there was a sufficient amount of the enemy inside the mote and dipped his staff into the murky water where electricity suddenly arced across its surface. Screams and the smell of burning flesh filled the air as twenty Death Eaters were fried where they stood. Harry finished his assault as the enemy started to conjure bridges and joined the others in duelling against the remaining twenty-seven with the help of the conjured soldiers, who were charmed to throw themselves in the way of any particularly dangerous curse from the enemy.

Harry snarled as a cutting curse managed to graze his thigh, while only just managing to transfigure his skin enough to block a sickly purple curse. He sprinted across the battle field, firing curse after curse, trying to garner the attention of as many Death Eaters as he could, and take them off their allies. Finally, when he was pinned with his back against the wall of the church, pouring as much as he could into his shielding charms while nine Death Eaters threw a barrage of spells his way, he gave the all clear, and with a bellowing roar and a thunderous caw, lightning and fire rained out of the sky, incinerating the Death Eaters, and freeing Harry to hurl an overpowered cutting curse at the closest Death Eaters who had taken their eyes off him to try to and hit Zephyr or Kyddris, slicing clean through the both of them and removing their torsos from their waists.

He roared in pain as something pierced through the back of his shoulder and looked down to see an arrowhead poking out just above his collarbone. Diving away from the wall behind him just as a swarm of arrows flew in his direction while an explosion where he had been standing threw him even further away. Spinning to his feet, he raised his staff and blocked the blasting hex from one Death Eater, before slashing it through the air and wrestling control of the arrows from another who was standing next to her. He transfigured the arrows into a stream of tiny shards of glass and directed them at the man and woman, using it to block their spells before catching them in a tornado of glass that tore them to shreds.

Suddenly he heard a voice around the other side of the church and his heart stopped.

" _Fiendfyre!_ " Sprinting around the church, Harry found Alfonzo and Abra standing over Penelope – who had a broken leg – and three other dead aurors, trying desperately to stop the flaming serpents that towered over them all and tore through their shields and the wards around the church with ease.

 _Harry!_ Kyddris shouted in his mind. _Focus on my magic! On what it feels like! Find your own version of it. That will stop those flames!_

Harry wasn't quite sure what Kyddris meant, but just at that moment, he released a jet of flames, and Harry focused on the overwhelming, inhuman power he felt surging through his familiar. Running into the cursed fire, he looked within himself, and found a memory from the third task of the Tri-Wizard Tournament. He remembered the unstoppable power that had surged from him when he was faced with both a dementor and a massive acromantula before a wave of flames had erupted from him and reduced them both to ash. Grabbing hold of that feeling, Harry roared and threw both his hands forward, stopping the Fiendfyre in its path. The flaming serpents exploded and the resulting inferno wrapped around Harry, but he didn't relent as he poured everything he had into stopping the flames. Hellfire spun around him in a deadly twister, and Harry bellowed ferociously as he threw his hands up and the flames coalesced into a miniature sun floating above his head before he thrusted his staff forwards and the superheated ball of flames rocketed towards its original caster. The man tried to run, but that only resulted in him bringing the fireball closer to his few remaining allies before it exploded and reduced them all to ash and burnt pieces of gore. Harry stumbled, and Alfonzo ran forward to catch him while Kyddris flew down and returned to his tattoo, and Zephyr shrunk down and landed on his shoulder.

"I'm fine," Harry said. A quick time check told him the entire battle took no more than an hour and a half at most, and that meant that he had to get back to Hogwarts as soon as possible, given that his imposter would likely have left as soon as the last Death Eater was dispatched and he needed to get back to teach his class. Harry couldn't help but wonder if he was just being used as some sort of weapon against Riddle, appearing to fight a battle, but always having to leave as soon as it was done. He would have to consult Flamel about this. "But I need to go. Please give my regards to the ladies inside the church, and tell them I wish them the best of luck."

He saw that they were all about to protest, but they never got a chance as Zephyr raised his wings and transported them away in a flash of lightning.


	29. Chapter 29

When he landed inside his office, he couldn't help but glare playfully at his friend. "A little warning next time, please."

Zephyr did an action that looked like the avian equivalent of a shrug, and glided over to his perch while Harry grunted as the adrenaline started to wear off and his injuries started to hurt all over again. He reached up and snapped the head off the arrow sticking out of his shoulder and looked up to see his mother, Sirius, and Remus staring at him in shock.

"Don't just stand there," he barked. "Get over here and help me pull this ruddy arrow out of my back!"

Sirius sprinted forward as Harry swayed and leaned against his desk, facing away from them so that his godfather could reach up and yank the remainder of the arrow from where it was sticking out of the back of Harry's shoulder. Harry grunted, and waved off both Remus and his mother as he shucked his robe and examined the gash to his leg as well as the one that he had apparently gotten on his side. He allowed Sirius to help him disrobe, but not before having him help Harry to his room, away from prying eyes. He didn't want his mother seeing the multitude of scars littering his body. It would only make her more worried and upset, and that wasn't something he had the energy to handle at the moment. He was too weak at the moment to heal himself properly, so he reached for his bedside table where a first aid kit and some potions had appeared. He cleaned and dressed his wounds before downing the potions and throwing on a change of clothes. The last thing to do was create a weak glamour to hide the scrapes and bruises all over his face. He desperately wanted a shower, but he knew that the three adults waiting for him would already be going spare and he didn't feel like pushing his luck.

Dressing himself in his usual robes, he limped out of his room and lowered himself down onto one of the couches.

"We have about thirty minutes before my class comes and you need to hide," Harry said. "That's enough time for you to explain how you're supposedly back from the dead and what you've been doing for the last year."

Lily nodded and took a seat herself before looking pleadingly into Harry's eyes. "When I first came back, I was in a muggle hospital near Godric's Hollow. I had no idea what year it was, but you can imagine my surprise when I learned that over thirteen years had passed. At first, I was too weak to do anything, I wanted nothing more than to see you, but I didn't have a wand and the muggles weren't about to let me go. It took me about a month and half just to build up the strength to cast a wandless Confundus charm on them so I could sneak out, and that alone took a lot out of me. During that time, all I could do was sit around and think. I started to ponder how I could possibly be alive, considering the last thing I remember was being hit by Voldemort's Killing Curse. The only theory I could come up with was that the protections around you must have failed. I knew that sacrificing myself for you would have given you the proper protections, and Sirius and Remus confirmed that for me when they told me that his body had been destroyed when he tried to kill you. It worked as a sort of magical contract; I give my life, and in exchange, you're protected from harm. When he came back, something must have happened that rendered the contract void, and thus dragged me back along with it."

"So that's why you still look like you're twenty-one?" Harry asked.

"I can only presume so," Lily replied. "The sacrificial ritual was extremely old magic that I was still trying to understand when he attacked us. All your father and I knew was that it involved a powerful bond of love, and that one had to be willing to lay down their life in order to protect another. It was sort of our contingency plan. One of us would sacrifice our lives, and that would protect you while the other could raise you. Unfortunately, he attacked before we could finish learning about it, and your father ran out to face him so that I could have time to get to you and flee. When I found that I couldn't Apparate away, I knew that I would have to perform the ritual myself." Lily took a deep shuddering breath and wiped at her eyes. "It broke my heart to think that you would have to grow up without us, but, at the time, I was happy to know that you would be growing up at all."

"That still doesn't explain why you didn't come and see me," Harry said quietly.

"As I said previously, I had a lot of time to think while in that hospital," Lily said. "I knew that the protections were gone, and while Voldemort may have been my primary worry, I was worried about what Dumbledore would do as well. I never trusted him as blindly as your father did, and there was always something in his eyes when he looked at you that made me uneasy. Like you were some sort of key to whatever plans he had. If you remember, I thought you were safe with Sirius, so when I got out of the hospital, though it broke my heart, I decided that I would be of more use to you building up preparations for whatever it was that was coming. I figured Sirius would have instructed you on the ins and outs of politics –"

"Your father was never a very big fan of the more political side of things that came with being the Lord Potter," Sirius said. "Granted, he only was for a few weeks, because your grandparents understood his desire to stay out of things, and your grandfather kept his title until he died in a Death Eater attack."

"So I went out to try and find some allies," Lily continued. "Of course the first thing I had to do was find clothes and a wand –that alone took me nearly two months as I was stuck with no money, no means of transportation, and only a limited number of spells that I could use."

"Is it really that hard for you to do wandless magic?" Harry asked. "I mean, I know that it's not as easy as it is with a wand. But I can still perform most of my basic spells."

"Harry, surely you've learned by now that you're the exception to most rules," Sirius said with a hint of a smile.

"What your godfather means to say," Remus added. "Is that most wizards can't perform wandless magic at all. You have an extraordinary connection with your magic, so I think that wandless magic comes fairly naturally to you, but many of us still require a focus to cast anything more complicated than a simple _Lumos._ In fact, I'm amazed that your mother was able to confound an entire hospital without a wand, and not surprised that it would take so much out of her."

"Anyway," Lily said. "I finally managed to steal a wand after some Voldemort supporters tried to vandalise where your father and I were buried and aurors were dispatched to stop them –"

"I remember that," Sirius interrupted. "Amy told me that there were vandals trying to get past the wards around your memorial."

"You have a memorial?" Harry asked.

Sirius looked down in shame and sighed. "I had actually been planning on taking you there this year during the holidays. I figured your relatives probably never bothered to."

"Considering what they told me about Mum and Dad, no, they didn't."

"What did they tell you about us?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," Harry replied quickly. "Where did you go once you had a wand?"

Lily huffed in frustration, but continued anyways. "I managed to steal one of the wands from the vandals, but it didn't respond to me very well, so I still couldn't Apparate without the risk of hurting myself. Instead, I cast a glamour on myself, called the Knight Bus, and used the Imperius Curse to sneak on without paying. I told you about my year in Italy, but what I never told anyone, including your father and Dumbledore, was that while I was there, I was approached by members of a secret organization. They told me that no one could know who they were or what they were doing, but they would provide me with resources that could help the war effort if I joined them. They didn't trust Dumbledore either, and wanted me to keep an eye on him during the war –"

Harry's eyes widened. Could his mother have been part of the Circle? Why hadn't the Flamels told him? How was he supposed to go about asking her?

"This wouldn't happen to be the same people who are apparently sending Harry gallivanting off into warzones, would it?" Sirius asked disapprovingly.

Lily's eyes widened and she whipped her head around to stare at Harry, a fire burning in her eyes. "Harry, you didn't… Tell me you didn't join the Circle."

"I did." Harry replied firmly. Lily gasped and reared back as if struck. Her expression changed from shock to anger, but Harry glanced at the clock that had just appeared on the wall and cut her off before she could say anything. "My class is coming in five minutes. After that, you can continue to explain what you've been doing, then I can lecture you on why you can't lecture me for my choices. Sirius, Remus, are you two going to stay and help out?"

Both of them nodded, and Lily looked upset as she threw on the Invisibility Cloak while Harry stood up and went to work changing his office to resemble his classroom for the older students. The door opened just as he finished with the wards around the different stations, and Harry marched back to the front of the room, leaning a bit more heavily on his staff to take weight off his injured leg, while reminding himself to design rune stones so he didn't have to do so much work setting up each class. He leaned casually against his desk and watched as the students all filed in and shoved the maelstrom of conflicting thoughts and emotions aside for the time being, switching seamlessly into his teacher persona.

"Evening all," he said as the door closed behind them. "As you can all see, a couple friends of mine have decided to come and help out tonight. So, younger years, why don't we start you all on the dueling and dodging exercises with myself and Sirius, and the older years will be going with Remus to work on the Disarming Charm."

Harry watched as they split off and started practicing before splitting the fourth and fifth years into two groups, one for the dodging exercise and one for the mock duels. He left Sirius with the dodgers, and forced himself to walk normally over to where Daphne was waiting for her turn in one of the five duel arenas.

"Don't ask questions," he muttered through his teeth as he came to a stop next to her and watched Hermione duel Padma. "I need you to cast a Healing Spell on my left thigh."

Daphne's face remained impassive, but he could feel her concern as she surreptitiously drew her wand and pointed it at his thigh. She muttered the spell and Harry nearly groaned with relief when he felt the ache of his flesh knitting back together. He sent her a burst of affection and gratitude, before marching up to where Hermione had just stunned Padma.

"Well done, Granger. Your use of the _Aguamenti_ spell and the Freezing Charm to cause your opponent to slip was imaginative. Ten points to Gryffindor." Hermione beamed at his praise, but Harry had already turned and gone to inspect the next duel. He noticed Hannah Abbot going a little overboard as she threw a rainbow of hexes at Seamus, but let it slide as nothing he saw could be classified as overly dangerous. Susan must have shared what had happened to Tracey the other day, and Harry couldn't find it in himself to feel terribly bad about what was happening. In fact, he noticed that Ernie Macmillan had paired himself with Dean as well, and looked far more enthusiastic than he normally did. Ron was paired with Daphne, and he hurried over to grab her by the arm before she could begin the duel.

"Don't lose control," he warned.

Daphne growled in frustration and yanked her arm away from him, but nodded nonetheless. He knew that she was itching for some revenge, and was worried that if anyone were to cause some serious damage, it would be her. He returned to his rounds, but made sure to keep an eye on their duel, just in case. He watched as she toyed with Ron, using everything from the Levitation Charm to float him twenty feet in the air and drop him, only to catch him just before he hit the ground, to a flurry of stinging hexes to his groin and feet, forcing him to dance around in place. Luckily, she didn't so anything too cruel, so just this once, he didn't deduct points for toying with an opponent, though he did warn her that he would next time. Eventually, the hour was up, and he sent the fourth and fifth years over to Remus to practice their Stunning Spells while the sixth and seventh years came to him.

After the class was finished, and everyone but Daphne had left, Lily came out from underneath his cloak just as the room returned to the way his office normally looked, with the exception of a rather large table to seat them all. Dobby appeared and Harry introduced him to Lily, who frowned slightly at the idea of Harry having a personal house elf, but said nothing on the matter. She did mention Tipsy, though, but Harry refrained from calling her at the moment, as he didn't have much time and didn't want to deal with that particular emotional breakdown, when there was still explaining to do, and at least two breakdowns he did have to deal with still – not counting his own when all of this finally caught up to him.

Harry filled Daphne in on what his mother had already explained. She was just as shocked as he was to learn that his mother had been a member of the Circle, but refrained from asking questions until Lily was done with her explanation.

"I took the Knight Bus to Diagon Alley, where I managed to steal enough gold to go to a wand maker in Knockturn Alley and have a new wand made for me. After that, I went to Italy where the coven and my contact with the Circle was –"

"Who are this Circle, anyway?" Remus asked.

"They're a global organization that works behind the scenes to maintain threats to the balance of the world's natural magic," Lily explained. "They're extremely secretive, and for the most part, being a member simply involves keeping an eye on things and doing what's right. However, there are members who are employed to partake in missions, which usually consists of sending one person to do something twenty would be needed for. Harry, how could you sign up with them like that?"

"They didn't inform us of exactly what the missions would be," Harry replied. "But they did mention that they would be helping me with dealing with both Riddle and Dumbledore. I don't fancy being ordered about, but in the last two days, I've done more for the war effort than I have in the last two months."

"He was going to involve himself in the battles anyways," Daphne added. "At least this way, he has a reliable source of information about them."

"And what about the fact that they're using you like some sort of weapon?" Sirius asked.

"Not to mention the attention it will bring if Harry Potter starts suddenly appearing on battlefields only to disappear once the fighting's done," Remus said.

"You're both right that this could very well be yet another group of people seeking to control me," Harry conceded. "And I'll be doing something about that the same way I have in the past, but this is my war just as much as it is anyone else's, and I plan to be involved."

"I trust you, Harry," Sirius said, reaching across the table to put a hand on his shoulder. "Just remember, that you don't have to do everything alone. We're all involved in this war together, and we will beat both Voldemort and Dumbledore."

Harry smiled gratefully at his godfather before turning back to his disapproving mother. "So, you went to Italy to contact the Circle as well. What happened next?"

Lily frowned but sighed in defeat. "It took some time to convince the witches of the coven that I was who I said I was, and the Circle took even longer, but after that I was sent on diplomatic missions to other covens to try and forge alliances. It wasn't easy, it's rare to see two covens be anything more than icy with each other, but it I managed to convince a couple to side with us. Finally, I left for Hogsmeade, where an old friend of mine has been housing me until I had a chance to reveal myself to you. I was there when I received the message that there was an attack in Italy and left to go and help. That's where I met you." Tears started to stream down Lily's face as she stood up and went to kneel in front of Harry. "I can't tell you how sorry I am, Sweetheart. Not a day went by where I didn't think about you. Every night, I would curl up, and weep at the thought of not being able to see you. But now that I'm back, I swear, I won't ever leave you like that again. I promise."

Harry looked down and saw nothing but sincerity and regret in his mother's eyes. His eyes. He reached out and cupped her face gently.

"You really are back," He muttered brokenly. He then shot forward and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He didn't sob, or shake silently, he just sat there, leaning down and embracing his mother quietly as tears slipped down his cheeks. When they finally separated, Daphne reached out and held his hand, squeezing it comfortingly as he smiled back at her. "Alright," he said, recomposing himself quickly. "First thing is let Minerva, Severus, Poppy, and our friends know Mum's back. Then I have something I need to tell you all that I noticed when I was in Dumbledore's office. After that, we all need to figure out how to turn this Circle business to our advantage."

The others nodded and the rest of dinner passed with stories from Remus, Sirius, and Lily's youths until Harry told them that it was almost time for his open session and stood up to go and open the door while the three adults retreated to another room that Harry's office provided for them. Harry sat down and summoned both Dobby and Tipsy and told them to ask Minerva, Severus, and Poppy in his office after the students had all retired to their dorms. Afterwards, he summoned Kreacher, who gave him an update on the last few meetings of the Order of the Phoenix as well as his hunt for the dark artifact that Sirius' brother had hidden somewhere in Grimmauld Place. The poor thing was still unable to tell Harry what exactly the object was, but he reassured him that he had cleared out the first two floors of the house, and it finally seemed to be helping Kreacher look for it by not moving things around.

Harry then went to go and walk around the room, offering help to anyone who asked before settling down on the couch next to Daphne and quietly explaining to his friends what was going on. When he told them about his mother's return from the dead, they were all skeptical at first, but eventually Neville and Blaise both pat him on the back and congratulated him, while his female friends all gave him a series of hugs, making Harry rather uncomfortable by the end and repositioning himself with Daphne between him and anyone else for a while. Blaise thanked him profusely for helping his mother and grandfather out in Italy, and they all began to ponder on what their next move was to be when the time came for Harry to usher the other students out of his office.

Severus, Poppy, and Minerva arrived promptly, five minutes after the room had been vacated and Harry opened his mouth to start easing them into everything that had happened when the door behind which his mother had been hiding with Sirius and Remus opened and they all walked right out, making Harry worry for Minerva's health as she gasped and collapsed into a chair with a hand on her chest.

"You really thought _that_ was the smartest way to go about things?" Harry demanded. Lily blushed and Sirius grinned sheepishly, both mumbling apologies while Remus looked equally as annoyed with them as Harry was.

"Lily…" Minerva muttered, tears filling her eyes. "Is it really you?"

"It's good to see you again, Minerva," Lily said, grinning as Minerva shot to her feet and wrapped her in a crushing hug.

"How is this even possible?" Poppy asked.

They quickly ran over the prevailing theory behind why Lily wasn't dead anymore, and by the end of it, Severus had seemed to have finally found his voice, though his skin was even paler than usual and his legs shook dangerously.

"Lily," he murmured.

Lily smiled at her old friend as tears filled his dark eyes. "Hey Sev."

Then, everyone in the room was witnessed to something that they had never thought possible: Severus Snape fell to his knees, a sob ripping its way through his chest, and bowed his head in front of Lily as he apologized.

"I am _so_ sorry! For everything! You were the greatest friend I could have ever hoped for and I threw it all away! I got you and Potter killed and left your son an orphan with that horrible sister of yours! I read the letter you wrote before you went into hiding, and I swear, I've tried to look after him as best as I could since then, but nothing I do feels like it will ever be enough."

The room was absolutely silent as Lily crouched down and knelt in front of Severus. "You were the one who told him, weren't you?" She asked softly.

Severus nodded. "I begged him to spare you, Lily. I begged! I didn't know it would be about you."

"Sirius and Remus say you've been spying on him ever since," Lily said as she reached out and lifted his chin so he could look into her eyes. "They told me about how much Harry looks up to you as well. I couldn't be more grateful to you for looking after him, Sev. For that, I'm willing to look the other way for your hand in what happened. There won't be any third chances though, Sev, and whether Harry forgives you or not is up to him as well." With that she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him in a soft hug before pulling him to his feet.

"Whether I'm willing to forgive you for what?" Harry asked once they both turned to face him.

"Harry, you should know, the reason your father and I went in to hiding was because there was a prophecy made," Lily explained.

"A prophecy?" Harry parroted, confusion clear on his features. Daphne stiffened beside him and reached out to grab his hand tightly.

"It foretold of a child who would vanquish the Dark Lord being born at the end of July," Severus said. He took a deep breath before continuing, but Harry cut him off.

"And you're the one who told him, aren't you?"

"Yes," Severus replied. "It was while Dumbledore was interviewing Sybill Trelawney. She may seem like a fraud, but she has the blood of a seer, and on occasion she will make a true prophecy. I only overheard the first part of the prophecy before I was thrown out, but I brought it to the Dark Lord nonetheless. As such, it ultimately falls to me apologize to you, Harry, for the way your life has gone. As well as you, Neville."

"Why me?" Neville asked.

"Neville, when's your birthday?" Lily asked.

"July thirtieth," Neville replied, before freezing as his eyes got much wider.

"That's correct, the prophecy had the chance to be about either you or Harry," Severus said. "But when the Dark Lord chose Harry, it locked in."

"Does the Ministry have some sort of record of prophecies that have been made?" Daphne asked.

"They do," Minerva replied. "It's located in the Department of…"

"Mysteries," Severus finished as she trailed off. "That's what Dumbledore has the Order protecting. Riddle wants to hear the rest of the prophecy, but is unwilling to go there himself to retrieve it, and only those who a prophecy is about can retrieve the prophecy from where it's kept."

"If that's the case, why don't I go and just destroy it?" Harry suggested.

"You don't want to hear the rest of the prophecy?" Poppy asked.

Harry shrugged. "I don't really care. I already figured that it would one day come down to me and him, I don't need some fancy prophecy to tell me that. Just take me to wherever it is, and I'll get rid of it."

"Very well," Severus said. "We'll figure out when to do it."

"There's also the other matter of the Circle," Harry said. "And what we should do about it."

At that moment, the Flamel family ring started to heat up, and Harry felt a strange, momentary shift in the energy around Hogwarts as Nicolas Flamel suddenly appeared in front of them all.

"Well, that's convenient," Daphne muttered, making Harry snicker.

"Lord Potter," Nicolas said, ignoring the looks of astonishment from those around him. "I believe you've been wanting to speak to me for the past few days."

"How'd you know?" Harry asked. "More importantly, how'd you get here?"

"That ring of yours allows you to call me," Nicolas explained. "As to how I managed to get here, I felt a quick opening in the wards around the castle and apparated here. I presumed it was you who did that, given that you are the proprietor of these hallowed halls."

"He's _what?!_ " Lily exclaimed.

Harry sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "This is going to take some explaining."

"Maybe it would be best if we all left you to it and you just explained everything to us later," Susan suggested.

Harry shot her a grateful look, and she led the rest of his friends out of his office to head back to their dorms.

"Shouldn't you be going too?" Lily asked as Daphne remained seated.

"I sleep here as well," Daphne said casually, making Harry groan as he could feel her enjoyment at the fact that Lily's face was heating up angrily.

"Really? Now?" He asked irritably.

"Sorry," Daphne replied unapologetically.

"Nicolas, I think you neglected to tell me some things when you were telling me about the Circle," Harry said.

"I take it you've been sent on your first mission?" Nicolas asked.

"I have," Harry replied. "Suffice to say that it was not what I was expecting."

"Yes, well, you are one of the youngest members we've had in quite a while," Nicolas said. "I can understand why you might think that you've been hoodwinked."

"Perhaps it would be better if you explained it from the beginning," Minerva suggested.

Nicolas took a seat and looked at the gathered witches and wizards before him and Harry could suddenly see the centuries of his life in his eyes. "The Circle is incredibly old," he began. "Predating Merlin himself, there are some who believe that it was the ancient witch Circe who founded us. Our goal is a rather simple one, maintain the natural magic that flows in and around the world. We have members placed all over the place, but no one is quite sure who is in charge as there is no real system of ranking within our organization."

"So you have no idea who issues the missions?" Harry asked.

"It's not so much _who,_ as _what_ ," Nicolas replied. "I'm not clear on the details, but there is an incredibly old artefact somewhere that gives out the assignments. I've been a member for well over four centuries and I have yet to learn much about it. I do know, though that the members sent to replace you while you are out on a mission have direct contact with this artefact from birth, and that they borderline worship it."

"Great," Harry groaned. "I'm part of a cult."

Nicolas chuckled and shook his head. " _Ma femme_ said the same thing to me when I found out about it. Unfortunately it is not quite that simple. Whatever this artefact is, I believe that it is hooked directly into the magical lay lines that crisscross the globe. That is how those portkeys can be sent to us and the replacements are able to reach us wherever we are."

"I'm still not hearing the part that explains why Harry is being sent on these missions with little to no information beforehand," Lily said coolly. "Even when I joined, I was informed of the dangers."

"That may be my fault," Nicolas said. "When I received your letter, Harry, asking about how you inherited the title of Lord Flamel, my wife and I had a long discussion about what to say to you. I admit to a certain level of deception through omission when I asked you to join, but I figured that you, of all people, could make use of the resources and connections that came with being a member. I figured I would still have two years to educate you on what being part of the Circle would entail, and allowed you to leave without properly explaining things to you."

"Why would you think you had so much time?" Harry asked.

"Because, while there have been members inducted who were younger than you are now, they would never receive a mission until their seventeenth birthday. The fact that you, a fifteen year old, have been dispatched on two already is most concerning."

Harry shifted uncomfortably, and Sirius sighed in defeat. "Harry, I think it's time we told them."

"Told us what?" Severus asked.

Harry growled in frustration before slumping in defeat. "I'm not actually fifteen. I'm seventeen."

"What?!" Minerva exclaimed. "That's ridiculous!"

"No, it's not," Poppy said. "You've been in a Dilation Chamber, haven't you?"

"What's a Dilation Chamber?" Daphne asked.

"It's a room where time flows faster inside than it does outside," Nicolas explained.

"Griphook set me up with one after the attack," Harry said. "The one in Gringotts has a thirteen-to-one dilation. I spent two weeks in there with him and a handful of Healers before third year, and Sirius joined us for another two weeks before fourth year."

Daphne's eyes widened. "So that month you and he were off training after your duel with Riddle…"

"Was a year inside the chamber," Harry finished. "It helped me get my head on straight after everything that's happened to me, and gave me time to better prepare myself for what I'm going to have to do."

He could tell that almost every other adult in the room wanted to get a word in, but Daphne mercifully came to his rescue on got the conversation back on track.

"So, this artefact you mentioned, is it what's sending the information about the missions directly into my head?"

"That's correct," Nicolas said. "As Harry's confidante, it's your job to provide him with the mission and any relevant details he should know. I believe Perenelle sent you a letter that said as much?" Daphne nodded and he continued.

"Then how come all I ever got were a location and what was going on?" Daphne inquired. "It would seem to me, that, as his confidante, I should at least be given some more relevant information."

"You must understand that this artefact is not human," Nicolas replied. "It does not care for you, it only cares for accomplishing its goals. Normally, my wife and I, as the ones who inducted you, would have been there with you on your first mission, and have provided adequate preparation. You, Miss Greengrass would have been instructed on how to use that ring of yours to quickly analyse the situation Harry would be going into, while Harry would have been accompanied by me to make sure he was safe, while I explained the reasoning behind certain orders."

"Such as the insistence for me not to use my Animagus form earlier tonight?" Harry asked.

"Precisely," Nicolas said. "You must remember, for all its power and intelligence, the artefact, whatever it is, is clearly not human. It doesn't care for how things will affect you, just for how you will help it in its goal to protect the world's magic. You're not only powerful magically, Harry, but politically as well. If you are seen contributing to the war effort in other countries, it will build sympathy for you as word spreads that you are splitting your time between teaching and risking your life to combat the growing threat further east. Respect for you will grow as you demonstrate your skills on the battlefield, and as such, people will be less inclined to challenge you off of it as well."

"So he's being groomed into some sort of puppet," Lily concluded angrily.

"I wouldn't go that far," Nicolas countered. "Already, I can tell that you are a fiercely independent young man. I have no doubt that you will not simply fall in line and follow your orders blindly. There is no penalty for going against them. Since the Circle has no defined leadership, so long as your goals align with those of the artefact, you will remain a member, though you will most likely win the ire of those who are replacing you while away."

"These people who are sent to replace members while on missions," Remus said. "What else do you know about them?"

Nicolas sighed. "Not much, I'm afraid. They take Polyjuice Potion to replace their members, and are somehow experts at mimicking mannerisms and speech patterns. On top of that, all of them are incredibly gifted at Occlumency and they always leave before their potion wears off, so their identity remains a secret. Even their magical signature somehow matches whomever they are replacing. However, over the course of a few decades, my wife and I have identified a minor flaw in their disguises in that they seem unable to perfectly mimic the wand of the member they are replacing. The difference is very subtle, but it is there. Even if the wand they use is made from the exact same materials, down to the same tree for the wood, and the same creature to provide the core, there will always be differences. Your focus in particular, Harry, would be impossible to replicate, given how intertwined a staff is with the one who grew it."

"While these questions are all well and good," Severus said. "Considering the fact that you have had centuries to ponder them, I see little reason to waste our time here doing so as well. What I would like to know is why Harry was sent to Italy in the first place."

"You're saying that you don't know?" Minerva asked.

"The Dark Lord makes sure that no one person knows too much," Severus replied. "I may be within his inner circle, but that only allows me to be privy to the goings on in Magical Britain, and even then my knowledge is limited due to the fact that I stay here under the pretense of spying on Dumbledore and the Order unless personally called by him."

"I believe the newly returned Misses Potter may be able to answer that question," Nicolas said, eyeing Lily with an expression similar to what Harry had seen Dumbledore use when convincing a student to admit to something.

"The Italian Coven is the home of the Oracle of Delphi," Lily explained quietly. "The most powerful seer the world has ever seen."

"You think it's another ploy to learn the prophecy?" Sirius asked.

"Most likely," Lily replied. "It's said that she can see every possible future, and knows every prophecy ever made."

"Do you think, maybe, we should inform the Order?" Minerva suggested. "Albus may not be trustworthy, but he does have access to incredible resources."

"As do I," Nicolas retorted. "And all of those resources are now at Harry's disposal. You may only see him as a manipulative old man, but I can assure you that he is far worse. I have seen him meddle with the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of people, using them to his own ends before throwing them away like a broken toy."

"That reminds me," Harry said. "Does the Elixir of life reverse the aging process?"

"It can, yes," Nicolas replied. "It will revert the body to its physical peak if taken in larger doses. However I've observed that doses large enough to restore the body can have negative effects on the mind. It is why Perenelle and I were always the ones in charge of administering it if a case came to our attention where it was needed."

"Well, however much Dumbledore is taking, it's making his hair start to regain its colour," Harry said.

"That's most concerning," Nicolas said. "However, as troubling as it is, I'm afraid that this Lord Voldemort is a more immediate threat."

"I agree," Harry replied. "It might be best to head to the Department of Mysteries and take care of that prophecy sooner rather than later."

"Before you do," Daphne said slowly. "I think there's something else you should know."

"Daphne, are you sure?" Severus asked.

"I'm not going to keep this from him anymore, Professor," Daphne said firmly.

"There's another prophecy about me, isn't there?" Harry presumed.

"Two, actually," Daphne replied. "The first was just after Kyddris hatched and you're the one who made it. Zephyr said that the magic around us was using you as a mouthpiece."

 _I'm also the one who asked them to not tell you,_ Zephyr added, sensing Harry's emotions. _A prophecy of that scope needed to be handled carefully, and there were implications suggesting that you were not to know about it._

"So why would you tell me now?" Harry asked.

 _I have discussed this with your mate at length,_ Zephyr replied. _She has wanted to tell you, but I was afraid that you would lose faith in yourself if you heard it and start believing you were trapped on a predetermined path._

"Zephyr, you, of all people, should have known how I would feel about having secrets kept from me," Harry said angrily.

 _And you, of all people, should have known how necessary some secrets are,_ Zephyr retorted.

The growing fire in Harry's belly quickly died as he realised his own hypocrisy. He was still annoyed with being kept in the dark, but he couldn't very well get angry at any of them when he was just as secretive. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "So are you going to tell me what the prophecy I said was about?"

 _At this point, you have pretty much fulfilled the path you yourself predicted. It simply alluded to you choosing a path that would pit you against both Riddle and Dumbledore._

"And the other one?" Harry asked.

"I can't remember it word for word, but Professor Snape has a copy of the memory that he has been observing," Daphne said. Harry could feel the regret and self-loathing churning through their bond, and sighed as he reached out and squeezed her hand with a comforting smile. He stood silently for several minutes as he mulled over what he had learned in the course of the last few days before taking a deep breath and steeling himself.

"Mum, will you and Nicolas accompany me to the Ministry tonight? I want to take care of this prophecy before Riddle finds a way to get to it or trick me into taking it."

Lily and Nicolas nodded and Harry turned to the others. "Thank you all for being here for me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate your support."

"Rosie should be able to get you to the Ministry fastest and with the least amount of trouble," Daphne suggested as her familiar loped over from her favourite corner. "Just tell her where you're going and she'll try to get you as close as she can."

Harry smiled and thanked her before crouching down and petting Rosie behind the ears as she licked his face. "Hey, girl. I need you to bring use to where the prophecies are kept in the Department of Mysteries at the Ministry. Can you do that?"

Rosie's tail wagged, and she let out a booming woof as the shadows at Harry's feet seemed to rise up and swallow him, Nicolas, and his mother. A moment later, they emerged in a dark room full of glowing blue spheres.

"Well, that was surprisingly easy," Lily said, shivering slightly a she stepped out of the shadows.

"Daphne and I have found that there's not very much that can interfere with a magical creature's method of transportation," Harry replied as he took off down one of the many aisles, reading the different names written below each sphere. "So far the only limitations we've seen are places that are Unplottable and those under the Fidelius Charm, but in both cases, if their magical signature is connected with that of someone who has been there before, they don't have much of an issue as they simply follow it there."

"That sounds like something that should have been addressed a long time ago," Lily said in concern.

"Wizards have a notorious history of greatly underestimating and disrespecting those who are not like them," Nicolas explained. "The irony of this is that we humans are consistently the least in tune with the magic in and around us."

Lily considered what he said, but decided instead to use the chance to try and learn more about her son. "So, you and that Daphne girl seem awfully close."

"We are," Harry replied.

"You don't think that you two are moving a little fast?"

"We aren't together. Also, you and Dad had me when you were twenty."

Lily faltered slightly behind him, but carried on. "So she just sleeps in your office?"

"Rosie looks after her sister at night, so she stays in my office to avoid the members of Slytherin who aren't happy about her association with me."

"You don't think that sounds a little paranoid?"

"At this point, I call it common sense."

"What do you mean by that?"

Harry sighed and kept his eyes on the rows of spheres before him. "Surely Sirius and Remus filled you in on a bit of what's happened so far."

"Not really," Lily admitted. "It seems that those who know anything about you are unwilling to share what they know with anyone. Even me."

"Suffice to say that life hasn't been all sunshine and rainbows," Harry replied, trying to ignore the hurt in her tone.

"That's understating things a little, don't you think?"

"Maybe."

Lily came to a stop and reached out to grab Harry's arm. "Harry, Sweetheart, why won't you tell me anything? I want to be here for you, so why won't you let me in?"

Harry kept his eyes on the ground, wrestling with his emotions. "What good would it do?" He whispered. "What would it accomplish other than upsetting you and making you feel guiltier than you already do? You and Dad died so that I can live. If I start weeping about how difficult that life has been, all it will do is make you feel bad for not being here. I've already had the time to work through it, and I don't see any point in bringing up any of the details."

"So that's how it's going to be, then?" Lily demanded. "My own son is determined to remain nothing more than an acquaintance to me?"

"Don't try to guilt me like that, Mum," Harry snapped. "It's beneath you." He paused and took a deep breath as he ran his hand through his long, dark hair. "Look, I can't begin to tell you how great it is that you've come back. It is _literally_ a dream come true. But I don't need yet another person feeling sorry for me, or trying to control me."

"Is that what you think I'm trying to do?" Lily asked quietly. "Control you? Pity you?" She reached up and cupped Harry's face, gently pulling it around so he could look her in the eye. She ran her thumb over the long scar across his face. "Harry, all I want to do is be there for you. I'll offer advice and opinions if they're asked for, but I don't want to dictate how you live your life. I just want to be there to support you however I can in whatever you do. That's what a mother does. Love and support. Unconditionally."

Harry reached up and cupped her hand, holding it against his cheek as he closed his eyes, absorbing the warmth and care in that one touch. Eventually, he opened them and pulled her hand away before turning around and resuming his search. Lily released a shuddering sigh and was moments away from breaking down into tears when he finally spoke. "I was forced into the Tri-Wizard Tournament last year. The first task involved a dragon, she's the one who gave me these scars."

Lily smiled and they continued to search the aisles in silence until Nicolas called them over. Harry found three different spheres with his name on them, and hurled each one onto the ground, shattering them before more than a syllable could be uttered. Just before Rosie loped over to return them to Hogwarts, her eyes widened and she whirled around to glare at him.

"Wait. _A DRAGON?!"_


	30. Chapter 30

The next few weeks were stressful for Harry. His mother split her time between staying at Potter Manor with Sirius and Remus (Tipsy had sobbed for a good hour when she finally saw Lily), and staying in another room created by Harry's office, which, now that the air had been cleared somewhat between them, would have been a dream come true for Harry, if Dumbledore and Umbridge didn't suddenly start paying much closer attention to him. Griphook and Firenze were still reporting little success in fighting the Ministry to get rid of the former, and the latter was being annoyingly unhelpful as he spent more time focused on his own machinations than anything else.

Harry's office became the only place where he and his friends could be sure that they were safe. The _Prophet_ had renewed its campaign against him with thinly veiled accusations that Remus, Griphook, and Firenze were trying to usurp power from the Wizengamot, while the first report of his involvement in Italy finally reached Britain's shores. Under the advisement of his more politically savvy allies, Harry refused to comment on his involvement there. The only facts that were known was that the Italian Ministry was grateful for his help in a situation that they would neither confirm nor deny had anything to do with the Bulgarian Ministry's sudden probing assaults on other countries. This prompted speculation as to what was actually going on, as Wizarding Governments generally weren't concerned with things like territory.

Another change was that one or both of the Flamels would visit every few days to instruct Harry on his duties as a member of the Circle, and Daphne's as his confidante. Perenelle taught her how to harness the various enchantments within the ring to quickly absorb and analyse everything within a twenty kilometer radius of where Harry would be transported, including who would be there, any information on them that was recorded magically, and even their surface thoughts – assuming they weren't too skilled in Occlumency. Meanwhile, Nicolas worked with Harry and was astounded by the leaps Harry had made through his own personal research. As an Alchemist, he was well versed in both magical and scientific theory, and so he and Harry would often spend hours at a time huddled together with a large blackboard making, debating, and testing various theories. Minerva and Severus would sometimes join them, both having decoded the research notes Harry gave them the year before for Christmas, and being fascinated by the unique perspective they provided.

Harry worried about the impending full moon and how to explain the unique transformation he would be going through. By the time he woke up the morning before his monthly transformation, he still hadn't figured out a way to break the news to his mother. He opened his eyes and purred as he felt Daphne pressed close against him. Before he knew what he was doing, he had pulled her closer to his chest and was pressing his nose into her hair. He could feel himself hardening, and his hips thrust against his will when Daphne giggled and pushed herself back against him.

"Down boy," she whispered, a smile brightening her face. She turned around in his arms and stared into his eyes. Harry could feel her teasing glee at pushing the limits of his control, and growled as he dropped himself on top of her, burying his face in the crook of her neck.

"You're a bloody menace," he muttered into her neck, making her shiver delightfully before he forced himself out of bed and transfigured his pyjamas into a wetsuit with a wave of his hand.

"And you're a bloody moron," Daphne muttered petulantly just before he ran out the door that had appeared on the far end of his room and hurled himself into the frigid depths of the Black Lake.

His instincts were always closer to the surface just before the full moon, and he was determined not to let them win. As he swam his laps, ignoring the familiar ache in his muscles, joints, and bones, he pondered Daphne's increasing tendency to tease him in that manner. While the idea of being with someone like Daphne in that way was as appealing to him as it would be to any red-blooded male, he was not going to allow the beast to take something as important as her first time from her. Besides, it was probably just playful teasing and nothing more. Daphne enjoyed giving him a hard time. That being said, he hadn't really seen her act that way with anyone else. Maybe it couldn't hurt to at least talk to her about it.

Making up his mind to speak to Daphne about what exactly was going on between them, Harry bid the Giant Squid farewell and made his way back to his office and changed in the bathroom before heading down with Daphne to the kitchens where they ate with the elves. Afterwards he escorted her up to the Transfiguration classroom, where she handed her homework in to Professor McGonagall and sat quietly reading a book on the history of Azkaban in Harry's grimoire while Harry shifted from friend to teacher. He and Minerva discussed some different theories, as well as how the different classes were doing until the rest of the class arrived. She switched the grimoire to display her transfiguration textbook, and listened as he and Minerva lectured the class on vanishing spells. Harry handed out snails for the class to practise with and went around observing their progress.

"You're holding your wand too tight," he said as he walked passed Malfoy. He didn't offer him a second glance, nor did he stick around long enough to deal with whatever retort Malfoy had in mind. He did, however, note that by the end of the lesson, Malfoy was among the few that had nearly completely vanished their snails' shells. He watched as the fifth years left and then turned to Minerva.

"Would it be alright with you if I spent the rest of the morning with Hagrid? I'm giving another lecture on Parseltongue this afternoon, and I'd like to make sure whatever snakes he's found are in a good mood before the students get there."

"That's fine," Minerva replied. "I believe that Umbridge may decide to pay him a visit today, so I think he could benefit from having you nearby to handle her. I'll bring you the homework I would like you to help grade tonight."

Harry thanked her and dashed outside to see Hagrid had several small fires burning just next to his hut. He had planned for today to be a day full of enlightening lessons for the younger years, and he hoped that teaching the third years about Parseltongue and dispelling their misconceptions concerning it would help when he spoke with them and the other younger students that night. He grunted as he reached the bottom of the hill before Hagrid's hut, ignoring the monthly aches that usually came with his transformations. Mastering his animagus form had helped with sparing his clothes, and being nearly full-grown lessened the pain somewhat to the point where Harry didn't really need to make a scene when he changed, but the unfortunate link between his affliction and his inner beast would forever make the transformation during the full moon more visceral and painful – not to mention tiring – as he wasn't making complete use of Transfiguration during those changes, and he was quite a bit bigger as Nightfire than he was as a human. He and Nicolas were trying to come up with a way to make those specific transformations easier on him, but in the meantime, he would just have to suffer in silence.

Stopping in front of one of the fires outside Hagrid's hut, Harry hissed a greeting to the newly formed Ashwinder just as it came into being, and was grateful for Wilhelmina thinking to clear out an area for the serpents where they wouldn't burn down the Forbidden Forest. Throughout the rest of the morning, he tended to the newborn serpents, until about thirty minutes through Hagrid's fourth year class, Zephyr flew in and alighted upon his shoulder.

Harry shot to his feet and interrupted Hagrid's lecture on Nifflers to call him and Wilhelmina over.

"There's an issue in the Forest," Harry said quietly. "A unicorn is in labor and Acromantulas are trying to attack. The centaurs are trying to hold them off, but they won't be able to forever."

"Alright," Hagrid said. "Jus' lemme grab me crossbow and we can head straight over there."

"I don't think that's the best idea, Hagrid," Wilhelmina said. "With that woman breathing down your neck, you should stay with the class."

"I'm the only one who can get those spiders to back off," Hagrid argued. "They listen to me."

"No, Hagrid, they listen to Aragog," Harry retorted. "He told me himself before setting his children on me and Ron. They won't attack you, but other than that he won't deny them a meal if they can find it."

Hagrid looked appalled as he suddenly realized what he had sent two twelve year olds into back then, but still looked like he wanted to argue until Wilhelmina cut him off. "Hagrid, don't worry, Potter and I will be fine. The boy's a powerful wizard and already has experience with the creatures."

"Besides," Harry added with a playful smirk. "You're the one who said that unicorns prefer a woman's touch. I can help the centaurs while Wilhelmina helps the mare."

Hagrid sighed and his shoulders slumped sadly. "Fine," he grunted. "But I'm comin' after you the second this class is over."

Harry smiled and embraced his very first friend before telling Zephyr to lead him and Wilhelmina towards the battle.

 _You think maybe I should come out and help?_ Kyddris asked in his head.

Harry gripped his staff tightly as he considered it. Kyddris would certainly be helpful, considering it would take much more than the pincers of a giant spider to even tickle him, and if there were enough to give a herd of centaurs trouble, then Harry could probably use all the help he could get. But was it worth exposing one of his secrets?

They approached their destination and Harry could hear the familiar clicking of pincers, as well as the stamping of hooves and the twanging of bows. His mind was made up for him when he suddenly heard a thump and a scream of pain as one of the centaurs fell. They burst through the last of the bushes just in time to see the poor creature be overwhelmed by the giant arachnids and a limp mass of webs be dragged back into the forest by a handful of the spiders. There must have been dozens, though, who remained and swarmed all around the centaurs pressed together in a tight circle around the shining white unicorn as it lay on its side breathing heavily.

"I'm about to do something that will be put me in a rather difficult spot if word got out that I could," Harry said resolutely as he watched another Acromantula leap through the air towards the unicorn only for a hail of arrows to bounce off its chitinous armor until one managed to pierce one of its eyes causing it to fall to the ground with a terrible shriek before being trampled underneath the hooves of the Elder centaur he had met with Daphne two years ago.

"Instead of telling me about it, how about you just do it," Wilhelmina said, already taking off and hurling spells at the spiders as she tried to approach the mare. Harry grinned and ran after her, killing several more spiders as he joined her with the elder.

"We're here to help," Harry said as he conjured a giant wall of quartz all around them. It slowed down the oncoming swarm enough for the centaurs to regroup and allow Wilhelmina to approach the mare. When the spiders reached the top of the wall, Harry fired a bolt of lightning at it, electrocuting the arachnids already trying to crawl over it, and killing several more when the electric charge caused the crystal to oscillate violently before exploding in a hail of razor sharp fragments which he kept from hitting any of his allies with a simple shield. Roasted and impaled carcasses fell to the ground, but the swarm paid them no mind as they simply crawled over their fallen brethren while those near the rear of the pack took the corpses back to the nest to be devoured. Harry cursed as more and more Acromantulas seemed to be attracted to the sound of battle. He had hoped a spectacular display like that would scare them off, but it only seemed to make the spiders more determined as regardless of the outcome they knew there would be plenty of food that night.

 _Harry, I'm coming out to help!_ Kyddris yelled forcing Harry to reluctantly agree as he emerged from his tattoo form. Zephyr flew around above them, trying to help, but his lightning was too unpredictable unless he either grew to a larger size and risked crashing into a tree before blowing them all up with an overpowered bolt, or flew low enough to be within range of the Acromantulas jumping strikes. In a bright flash, Kyddris appeared and released a thundering roar that was followed by a jet of flame so hot it flickered blue near his mouth while leaving nothing but ash in its wake. In an effort to restrain himself from setting the entire forest ablaze, Kyddris was releasing far more focussed streams of fire which were, as a result, much hotter. Even so, Harry casted several protections on the area around them while he and his familiar pushed back against the encroaching swarm. By the time Hagrid showed up, they had pushed the Acromantulas back to the edge of the clearing – Kyddris having switched from using his flames to attacking with his massive bulk and powerful claws – and Hagrid stumbled to a stop as he watched the little boy he had met on some deserted island who didn't even know what magic was, fight side by side with a herd of centaurs and a _dragon_ against a swarm of deadly Acromantulas.

The battle was raging, and Harry panted tiredly as he stood with Kyddris, Hagrid, and the Elder centaur. He had summoned his sword and it dripped with a sickening mixture of pale-blue spider blood and milky venom. He didn't know how much longer they could last, or how many more spiders the colony was willing to throw at them – but considering they simply saw a large list of casualties as a larger victory feast once all was said and done, he wasn't willing to let this become a matter of attrition. Casting his mind back to his first encounter with the giant arachnids, Harry had a flash of inspiration as he remembered what he had learned from that terrifying encounter. Closing his eyes, Harry reached deep into his memory and magic, and raised his staff high, the twin serpents' wings flaring out as the dragon core glowed powerfully.

 _"Rex Serpensortia!"_ He shouted in Parseltongue. There was a blinding flash and Harry opened his eyes as a basilisk just a bit shorter than Kyddris erupted out of the end of his staff, its feathery crown almost glowed crimson as it hissed angrily at the swarm, who had already turned tail and fled before it even opened its eyes. Harry sighed, grateful that his plan had worked as he slumped against Kyddris while Zephyr glided down to land on his shoulder and nuzzle his cheek affectionately.

 _You've done well, Young One._

 _Thanks,_ Harry replied tiredly, smiling as he heard the high-pitch whinnies of the newborn foal fill the air.

Kyddris, however, while tired, was still riding high from their battle and hissed enthusiastically as he reached his head around and bumped Harry with his snout. _"That was amazing! Harry, did you see me? I didn't even set any trees on fire!"_

Harry grinned and rubbed his familiar's snout, enjoying his youthful enthusiasm while Hagrid just watched, wide-eyed.

"Harry, who's that?" He asked.

Harry sighed and pushed himself up off his friend's scaly side to properly make introductions. "Hagrid, this is Kyddris. He's my familiar."

"Blimey," Hagrid muttered before laughing giddily as Kyddris gave him a lick. "Oh, you remind me o' Norbert."

Harry then left the two of them to get acquainted while he went over to check on the unicorns with Wilhelmina and the Elder.

"Of course you would have a dragon as a familiar, Potter," Wilhelmina said as she carefully checked over the mother and her child. "It's rare enough to have a familiar, but even then, they are usually mundane creatures. Only you would somehow create that same bond with a dragon, of all things."

"You understand why I've been hesitant to reveal him, right?" Harry asked.

"Course I do. Though, you have to admit, with the precedent of a student keeping a hellhound on school grounds, it would definitely be funny to see how that woman would react to you having a dragon here as well."

Harry chuckled and smiled fondly as the newborn foal made its way over to him on shaky legs and pressed its snout against him.

"I would like to thank you for your assistance, Harry Potter," the Elder said as he came back from tending to one of his wounded sisters. "Were it not for the Ancient One bringing you, my herd and I would not have survived the day."

"It was my pleasure," Harry replied as he stroked the newborn's soft golden mane. They all watched as the child returned to its mother before their attention was drawn to a giggling Hagrid as Kyddris easily lifted him onto his back and trotted over.

"Harry, d'you and Kyddris 'ere speak to each other in Parseltongue?" Hagrid asked as he slid off Kyddris' back.

"We do," Harry replied. "It's not quite the same dialect as with other serpents, though."

Hagrid had a gleam in his eye and Harry raised an eyebrow curiously while Wilhelmina shot to her feet and shook her head.

"Oh, no you don't! Rubeus Hagrid, we are not bringing a dragon to a third year class! No matter how tame he is, we'd both be given the sack and you know it! Not to mention Harry having his familiar taken away!"

"But think o' the opportunity!" Hagrid pleaded. "There's ne'er been a chance to study a live dragon up close like this without stunning it before!"

 _"Excuse me, but I'm not some trinket to be passed around a class and studied!"_ Kyddris hissed angrily.

Harry relayed the message, and Hagrid quickly turned around and waved his arms as he tried to backtrack. "Oh, no! That ain't what I meant! I simply thought that if the kids could see that you weren't some great beast that destroyed homes and burned villages, they might not be so afraid o' you!"

 _"That's exactly what I am, though,"_ Kyddris replied dryly and Harry snorted, making Kyddris glare at him playfully.

"Hagrid, you can't let anyone know about Kyddris," Harry said. "I'd be arrested otherwise, regardless of him being my familiar or not."

Hagrid looked like he wanted to argue, but then he looked around the carnage left over from the battle and was reminded of what he had accidentally sent Harry to face three years before. He sighed in defeat and his shoulders slumped as he reluctantly agreed to keep Kyddris a secret. He quickly brightened though, when Harry informed him of how Kyddris spent much of his time in the Forbidden Forest, and relayed that Kyddris would most definitely appreciate Hagrid visiting him and bringing him food every once in a while.

After that, the Elder centaur gathered his brethren and bid them farewell as they had to help the pair of unicorns find their herd. Harry nodded and smiled when both mother and child walked over to nuzzle him affectionately before following the Elder into the depths of the forest while Kyddris returned to his tattooed form and Harry cleaned his sword before vanishing it back to his office.

Lunch was already well underway as Harry and Wilhelmina returned to the castle. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on their side, as Harry was just thinking of how nice it was that there wasn't really anyone around to ask why Harry's robes were torn and he was covered in scratches and bruises, or what it was exactly that was coating Wilhelmina's arms and torso, when students started flowing out of the Great Hall on their way to pick up books and other items before their afternoon classes started.

A crowd quickly formed around them as the first students spied Harry's battle-worn state, and questions suddenly started flying. A quick glance into the Great Hall showed that Dumbledore was conveniently absent, and Harry's eyes widened as the crowd started to push towards him and Wilhelmina in an effort to get a closer look at them. Harry scowled and slammed his staff on the ground, his magic making the sound echo off the walls of the Entrance Hall.

"That's enough. There was an issue within the Forbidden Forest that Professors Hagrid, Grubbly-Plank, and I had to deal with. It involved dangerous magical creatures, and as such, I was forced to take measures to protect us."

" _Hem hem."_ Harry groaned quietly, and several of the students closest to him snickered as the crowd parted to reveal the stout, pink form of Dolores Umbridge. "Excuse me, Mister Potter, but what situation could possibly call for you and Professor Grubbly-Plank to enter these hallowed halls in such a… bedraggled state?"

Once again, he wondered why he didn't just have the woman arrested, but between his threat, the clandestine war Fred and George were waging against her, and his own position of power, she was no more of a threat than Malfoy was, and he was more inclined to having a minor nuisance in his school and teaching her class himself, than seeing who Fudge would send next. He had to force down a smile as Wilhelmina rolled her eyes and looked at Harry.

"I don't have time for this," she grumbled angrily. "I'm covered in amniotic fluid, and desperately need a shower and a sandwich." The crowd parted as she headed towards her quarters, and Harry followed her lead, but decided to add a little bit of flare as he limped right in front of Umbridge, Zephyr snickering in his head the entire way, before being transported back to his office in a flash of lightning that he would later hear made Umbridge stumble into a nearby table and accidentally spill a large bowl of tomato soup on her head.

He stumbled slightly as he landed in his office and summoned his sword once again before sitting down to clean it. He knew there was no real need, as the goblin-wrought silver was incapable of being damaged by the usual wear and tear, but the action was monotonous and therapeutic as he sat in the floor, taking stock of his injuries. He had various cuts all over his body, and knew that at least one Acromantula had managed to bite him, but he could already feel his body and the unique cocktail of magical substances in his bloodstream purging the venom.

Harry finished wiping down his sword and asked Dobby for something to eat as he returned the black and silver blade to its sheath. He looked down at the blade in his hand and was briefly tempted to strap it to his belt, but shook himself of the thought as Dobby returned with his meal. He ate alone in his office, as Daphne was already in the library, studying, and he didn't want to disturb her. He did ask Dobby to bring her and their friends some food as he collected Harry's plates, but other than that, Harry enjoyed the rare moment of peace as he stood up and headed for the shower.

Once he was finished, he disposed of his ruined clothes, and pulled an identical set out of his trunk, barely grunting as his wounds stretched. Once he was finished, he threw his robe over himself and walked out, once again lingering on his sword as it lay on top of his Invisibility Cloak. He was once again struck by a mental image of him standing with the Cloak pinned to his shoulders, billowing fluidly in the wind atop a cliff, his staff gripped in his left hand while his sword hung at his waist. Clearing his mind of the strangely vivid daydream, Harry made his way down to Hagrid's hut where he waited as the third years slowly trickled in. Once again, Hagrid and Wilhelmina explained that they would be doing something different today, and Harry stepped in to start his lecture. He was pleased to see that the fourth years had apparently passed down a bit of what they had learned the year before, and patiently explained the history of Parseltongue, Slytherin, and the misconceptions about the dark nature of serpents.

After he was done with classes, Harry returned to his office, smiling as various exercising equipment had appeared. He stripped out of his clothes and the shivered as the cool air brushed his naked skin before heating up while he folded his clothes. He couldn't quite explain why, but he always preferred to exercise in the buff whenever he was alone. There was something about the subconscious reassurance that this was the one place that he was so safe he could let his guard down completely that filled him with a wild exhilaration and pushed him to work even harder.

Breathing deeply as he finished stretching and warming up, Harry moved first to a set of weights and started with a set of squats to work out his legs. As usual, he picked up the bar and weights appeared on either end until he was satisfied with its mass.

 _Are all those things you said about Parselmouths true?_ Bella asked.

Harry grunted and slowly lowered himself into a squat. _Yeah, they are. Were you listening?_

Bella sounded ashamed and Harry got a mental as if she were lowering her head apologetically. _I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have been eavesdropping._

 _How often do you listen to what I'm doing, Bella?_ Harry asked. While he knew that the little girl trapped inside the mind of Bellatrix Lestrange would never willingly betray him, he wouldn't blame Bella for giving him up in the face of her tormentor.

 _I don't try to listen when you talk to your friends,_ Bella replied. _But I like listening to your classes. It makes me feel like I'm really going to Hogwarts. Plus the Scary Lady can't get me when I'm with you._

Harry knew what she meant by that. While Bella's true personality had been supressed by whatever it was that her parents – and later Riddle and the Lestranges – did to her, whenever she and Harry were in contact, the personality that had taken form and earned her the reputation as one of the most evil witches in modern history could not reach her. That was why Harry had put so much effort into his Occlumency exercises, so that when he laid down to sleep, he could at least offer the little girl some respite until he could figure out a way to break whatever curse had been placed on her.

 _Bella, you're not in trouble,_ Harry reassured her as he completed his first set of squats. _But I need to know if you've overheard any of my conversations between me and my friends._

 _I know that you and Nicolas Flamel and your Mum work for a bunch of blokes in a circle,_ Bella admitted. _But when you're meeting with them, I try to just walk around in here. Your mind is really pretty. I like the way you can't tell which way is up or down but tick to the ground anyways._

 _Thank you, Bella,_ Harry replied. As a Beacon, his mind was much more accessible than the average Occlumens, so instead of creating a series of walls and such, Harry had built his mental defences in the shape of Hogwarts, however, while most people expected that they would simply have to break through defences around the castle and make their way through, Harry had designed the interior to be a labyrinth that didn't obey normal geometric rules, with stairs going sideways, floors that twisted into ceilings, and all sorts of other non-Euclidian designs. He then filled the halls with various defences in the form of anything _but_ a wall. The idea was that if his mind was attacked, the enemy may have no problem breaking in, but navigating it would prove to be an almost impossible task. _But I hope you're being careful in there. It's not polite to go routing through people's memories._

 _Don't worry, I don't,_ Bella said. _Most of the time I just wander around and talk to Mister Zephyr and Mister Kyddris._

 _You can talk to them as well?_ Harry asked, grunting as he tossed the weight on the ground and grabbed on to a chain that had suddenly appeared and was attached to a pulley with several metal blocks on the other end. Using both hands, he pulled the chain down from his right shoulder to his left hip, muscles burning as he fought gravity to lift the blocks. He was always sore the day of the full moon, but the more he worked out, the more he found that pain to be manageable.

 _Of course she can,_ Zephyr said.

 _As long as she's in your head, she's in ours too,_ Kyddris added.

That made Harry feel better, knowing that his two most trusted companions were looking after the little girl he had come to grow so fond of. The rest of his workout was spent talking with her. He reassured her that they were working as fast as they could to get her out of Azkaban, and – while it was against Harry's better judgement – Kyddris and Zephyr both reassured her that she would be attending Hogwarts by next year. Harry didn't feel great about them both making promises he wasn't sure they could keep, but both Kyddris and Zephyr were honourable creatures, and if they made promise, then they would do everything in their power to keep it.

Harry had just finished with his salmon ladder, and was standing in the middle of a ring of poles jutting six feet out of the ground, with steel rods branching out of them at random heights. In his hands was a practice sword that his office had provided for him. It weighed and was balanced exactly the same as his personal sword, and when the poles started spinning and randomly shooting forward, he used it to practice blocking and parrying for about twenty minutes before his practice sword morphed into a facsimile of his staff and he continued for another fifteen. After that, he continued for another ten bare-handed, not even hearing the whoosh of the fireplace he had keyed into Potter Manor's Floo Network. He did, however, hear his mother's harsh gasp as she laid eyes on his exposed body while Remus looked particularly uncomfortable at seeing him naked.

Harry stopped his exercise and glanced at the clock to see that he still had twenty minutes before his class started, and began stretching to cool himself down, making no effort to hide himself. This was _his_ space. He was not about to have that taken away from him, even if it meant exposing himself to his own mother.

"Normally, someone announces that they are coming through the Floo," he said harshly as he took a deep breath and sat down to stretch his legs. "Otherwise, you risk walking in on something you'd rather not see."

"Clearly," Remus said, pointedly glaring at some point on the ceiling. "Would you mind at least putting some pants on?"

"I'm nearly done," Harry replied. "Surely Padfoot told you that I work out in the buff?"

"He might have said something, though he neglected to mention your lack of… modesty about your body."

"These are my quarters," Harry said coolly. "I'm not about to hide myself when you're the one who walked in unannounced."

"Harry James Potter, you put some pants on right now and explain what the _hell_ happened to give you all of… those!" Lily shrieked, waving her arm at the many scars littering Harry's skin. Her face suddenly burned as she registered that her son was _naked_ , in front of her and she snapped her neck up to look at the ceiling as well.

Harry's eyes narrowed, but Bella, Kyddris, and Zephyr reminded him that his mother wasn't trying to control him, but was merely concerned. "Once again, I'll not hide myself because of an unannounced visit. Even Daphne knows that I don't like to be interrupted during my personal training sessions."

Lily opened her mouth to respond, but once again Harry's fireplace flashed and Sirius burst through. "Lily, Moony, wait! Harry's probably training right now and you shouldn't… shit."

"A little late there, Padfoot," Harry said sardonically as he stood up and grabbed a towel that had just appeared.

"Well I'm sorry! They left before I could figure out how to explain that my godson is a closet nudist!" Sirius replied angrily, suddenly staring at the exact same interesting point on the ceiling as Remus and Lily.

Harry rolled his eyes and walked into the bathroom to shower quickly. When he was done, he left his hair out of its normal braid to dry while throwing on his slacks and a button up shirt. He knew his mother wouldn't let go of what she had seen, and, with some prodding from Zephyr and Kyddris, decided that he could at least offer her something. He stepped out of the bathroom, tying his hair back in a ponytail that left his bangs hanging down to frame his face and cover his scar (at least the one that made him famous), rolled up his sleeves as he took a seat next to his mother and grabbed her hand with his own. Whatever Lily had been berating Sirius and Remus for died on her lips as he gently directed her hand over his right forearm, running her fingers over the large, round scar there.

"There's not enough time to explain everything," Harry said quietly. "But I got this one when Riddle tried to use a Basilisk to kill me." He nodded his head to the fireplace, where Gryffindor's sword sat on his mantelpiece. "I used Gryffindor's sword to stab it through the top of its mouth, but one of the fangs got me in the arm. I then used that fang to destroy the diary and stop Riddle from returning. If it weren't for Dumbledore's phoenix crying in the wound, I would have died."

Tears streamed down Lily's cheek and she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder as she sobbed and muttered apology after apology.

"There's nothing to apologise for, Mum," Harry whispered. "You're back now, and that's all that matters. But I have a really important lesson coming up, and I need to prepare. You can wait in the other room with Zephyr though, if you want."

Lily sniffled and pulled back, nodding. Sirius went and joined her while Remus, stood and walked over to where Harry was changing his office to involve a projection screen, a table with a cauldron full of smoking potion, and enough comfortable seats to accommodate his younger class. "Are you sure about this, Harry? This could make our lives a lot more difficult."

"I know," Harry replied. "But if we ever want to really change the public opinion, we need to start somewhere, and I can't think of a better place than here."

Remus sighed and nodded, placing a hand on Harry's shoulder with a smile. "You're doing a good thing."

"Thanks," Harry replied, smiling. "For everything."

*(OoO)*

"He's one too, isn't he?"

Sirius looked up from the book he was reading and raised an eyebrow at Lily, who was watching Harry's lesson through a window that was disguised on the other side. There was so much love in her eyes as she watched her son enthusiastically answer his student's questions that it made Sirius' chest ache as he remembered better times as well as reminding him of the way Amelia looked at her niece.

"What was that, Lily?"

"Harry," Lily clarified. "He's a werewolf too. That's why he knows so much about how the transformations feel and what the Wolfsbane potion does."

Sirius sighed and stood up to wrap his arms around the woman who might as well have been his sister-in-law. "Harry does suffer from Lycanthropy," he murmured, closing his eyes so he didn't have to see the look of heartbreak on Lily's face. Hearing it in her voice was more than enough to fill him with guilt. "But he doesn't suffer from it in the same way Moony does."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked hesitantly.

"There was still basilisk venom and phoenix tears in his system when he was bitten," Sirius explained. "As a result, he doesn't turn into a wolf every full moon. Instead, he gets forced into his Animagus form. He can fight it, or take Wolfsbane to prevent it completely, but as soon as he relaxes and lets his control slip – which usually means when he eventually falls asleep – he'll change, and the potion might stop the transformation, but it messes with his head and doesn't do anything to stop the monthly aches."

Sirius took a deep breath and swallowed his pain as Lily whirled around in his arms and started to sob loudly into his chest.

"He planned on telling you tonight. His friends, Severus, Minerva, Poppy, Remus, and I always spend the night here with him until Moony starts to change, then only Daphne, and those of us who are Animagi stay, while Harry allows himself to change as well."

"Why does that Daphne girl stay?" Lily asked. "Isn't that dangerous?"

Sirius chuckled and shook his head while Zephyr flew over to join them. _There is no safer place for the girl than with her mate when he has transformed._

Lily sputtered, her eyes widening as her cheeks reddened. "Her _mate?"_

"Lily, calm down," Sirius said quietly. "I know what you're thinking, but if you want to have any hope of building a relationship with Harry, you'll have to do it through Daphne."

"And why is that?" Lily demanded hotly, her legendary temper starting to come forward.

"That night Harry found you in Italy, you saw his Animagus form, right?"

"Are you implying that my son's animagus takes the form of that… _thing_ that tore through Voldemort's forces?" Lily asked incredulously.

Sirius nodded. "Your son is more special than you can even begin to imagine, Lily. His Animagus takes the form of a chimera, and not the ones you'd find in Greece. He has two inner animals: a Nemean lion, and a wyvern."

"That's impossible," Lily whispered. "The odds of that happening are –"

 _Next to nothing,_ Zephyr finished for her.

"And because of the Lycanthropy, Harry's much closer with Nightfire, than even I am with Padfoot, and I've been spending half my time in that form since I achieved it," Sirius added. "As a result, he's adopted some of the other aspects of his bestial half; namely, the ability to form an imprint."

Lily gasped and tears started to flow as she registered what she was hearing. Her son was cursed to only be able to fall in love with one person for the rest of his life. He wouldn't even to find another living creature attractive. Sirius reached down and squeezed her hand comfortingly. "He's lucky he imprinted on someone as fantastic as Daphne," he continued. "She kind of reminds me of you when we were that age. On top of that, she not only accepts Harry's feelings for her, she reciprocates them as well. It's Harry who's standing in the way of them progressing any further. He's afraid that his more bestial half will cause him to lose control and hurt Daphne, despite the fact that she has been working to reassure him that his feelings are his own, and that they are indeed mutual."

Lily sagged in relief. She thought back on the interactions between her son and the blonde-haired Slytherin girl that he was nearly attached to at the hip, focusing on how Harry looked when he interacted with her. She hadn't gotten off to a good start with the girl, as she had immediately been put on the defensive concerning the fact that she didn't immediately track down Harry, and from that point on, the two of them had been nothing more than downright horrid with each other, Daphne's frigid rage a stark contrast to Lily's fiery temper. But the more she thought about it, the more she couldn't deny the fact that it was out of concern for Harry that Daphne did any of it. Nothing she said held any true malice, rather her anger was layered in protectiveness that Lily knew well; having defended James on several occasions from those who still held grudges with him for his boorish behaviour during their younger years.

Resolving to try harder to mend her relationship with the girl who would most likely wind up being her daughter-in-law, Lily took several calming breaths before moving on to the other topic that had been eating away at her.

"Sirius, I need to know," she said pleadingly. "How many of those scars are from his stay with the Dursleys?"

Sirius looked down and shrugged. "I couldn't tell you. He had already started on the more rigorous aspects of his training by the time I met him, so he had scars from that, the events of his first two years, and the werewolf attack at that point. The only people who know exactly what happened at the Dursleys are him and the Mind Healer that Griphook had found for him before his third year. Though, odds are that Daphne knows bits and pieces too."

"He's never told you anything?" Lily asked, shocked. "Or Remus?"

"The only other person I can think of who would know anything is probably Severus," Sirius replied sadly. "But you can't go to him to tell you what you want to know, Lily."

"Why not?" Lily asked hotly.

"Severus was the first adult Harry had come to trust. It broke my heart to see how close the two of them were when I first met Harry. I felt like it was some sort of post-mortem insult to James. Harry was the one that forced us to at least be civil with each other, and eventually put the past behind us, and that was only after seeing just how devoted to him Severus was. I could tell that part of it had to do with you, but over time, I think they formed a genuine bond with each other, and Severus would rather die than betray Harry's trust. He's spying on both Dumbledore and Voldemort, just to keep Harry safe. You might be the only person in the entire world that could make that man reveal his secrets, but I'm begging you not to. If Harry felt that Severus, of all people, had betrayed his trust, then I know for a fact that it would break him beyond repair."

"Then what am I supposed to do?" Lily cried. "My baby was hurt, and hated, and alone, but he won't even tell me about it!"

 _Why?_

Lily froze and turned to the thunderbird that was perched casually on her shoulder. "Excuse me?"

 _Why must you know every specific detail of your hatchling's suffering?_ Zephyr asked. _The Dog has already informed you that he has been to a Mind Healer, and will tell you that he continues to see one during his annual visits to the Dilation Chamber. Nearly every night, he lays in the darkness with his mate, and she holds him while he slowly tells her of what he's been through. Is it not enough to simply be happy knowing that your hatchling is sharing his demons with someone, even if that person isn't you? You have seen his scars. You know his life has not been easy. You were not there for him. This is no accusation – it is fact, but you are now. Is that not enough?_

Lily's cheeks burned with shame as she stared down at her shoes. "You're right," she admitted after several minutes of silent contemplation. "If I keep pushing him, it will only push him away. I have to focus on being here and supporting him now." She sighed and smiled shakily as she looked up into Sirius' eyes. "Being a parent is hard."

"Then why not start with being a friend?"

Lily turned around and smiled as she saw Harry standing there awkwardly. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him close. "I think I can work with that," she whispered, her smile growing as Harry reached up and embraced her tightly.


	31. Chapter 31

Dinner was an entertaining affair with Harry's mother quizzing him on everything from his favourite colour to a play-by-play of each of his Quidditch matches. She gasped in fear when Harry told her how he had nearly been thrown off his broom during his first one, and laughed when she learned that Hermione had set Severus' robes on fire, thinking it was him who had been cursing Harry. She listened with rapt attention as Harry described his first meeting with Fluffy, Hagrid's Cerberus, and hugged him close when he described his encounter with the troll on Halloween.

"I can't help but wonder, though; if you, Ron, and Hermione had so many adventures together, why do you seem so distant now?"

"After the attack and my arrival at Potter Manor, Ron, Hermione, and I started to grow apart," Harry admitted quietly. "To be fair, I was being rather secretive. I had just learned so many knew things, and I had so many plans to work on, but I knew I couldn't trust Ron to keep his mouth shut if he lost his temper, and Hermione would have immediately ran to Dumbledore once she had learned that I was frequently visiting the Chamber of Secrets, and dabbling in more advanced magic. The only person I trusted at first was Daphne, and that was because she and I both thought that I had called on an old oath of allegiance between her family and ours. But then Daphne and I started growing closer, and I started to make other friends. Suffice to say Ron and Hermione didn't react in a very mature manner."

His mother was very supportive, and Harry smiled as she grabbed his wrist and squeezed it reassuringly. The happy moment was interrupted by a knock on the door, and Daphne walking in followed by the rest of Harry's friends. Harry's office wouldn't be open to the students tonight, giving them some extra time to hang around with each other before he and Remus changed. Harry stood up and wrapped his arms around her, burying his face in her hair as his chest rumbled against her cheek.

"Evening, Sunshine," he said with a grin as they pulled away. "How was your day?"

Daphne shrugged. "Same old, same old. Malfoy's a prat, OWLs are killing us, you apparently walked through the Entrance Hall drenched in some strange fluids and covered in wounds."

Harry smiled sheepishly as they both fell into their own little world, his mother, godfather, and honorary uncle all but forgotten. "There was a unicorn giving birth in the forest, and Acromantulas were trying to attack it. Wilhelmina, Kyd, and I joined the centaurs in defending them."

"Since when are there Acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest?" Sirius asked.

"A little over fifty years," Harry replied. "Hagrid had been secretly raising one when he was expelled, and he brought it a mate some time later. There are probably hundreds, if not thousands of them deep in there by now."

"And you just ran off and fought a swarm of them?" Remus demanded.

"It wouldn't be the first time," Harry said. "I met them during my second year as well. This time, though, I had a thirty-five foot dragon on my team and am much more skilled magically. Not to mention the goblin-wrought sword that cuts through anything and kills them with a single cut. Turns out, there's a pretty easy way to get them to run away without risking life and limb, though."

"What did you do?" Lily prodded.

"Conjured a basilisk," Harry replied. "It wasn't very big compared to Slytherin's Serpent, and it probably wouldn't have had the deadly gaze, but it still did the trick."

"So now there's _another_ basilisk roaming about?" Tracey asked fearfully.

"Of course not," Harry replied. "Something that's been conjured can't exist forever unless there's a constant source of magic. It's a basic principle of Transfiguration."

"Harry, fifth years haven't started conjuring yet," Neville reminded him.

"I see you inherited your father's talent for Transfiguration," Lily said proudly.

Harry beamed at his mother's praise while Sirius scoffed good-naturedly. "More like he just inherited your genius. He had more Os on his OWLs than me and Prongs combined."

"You've already taken you're OWLs?" Lily asked.

Harry nodded, his chest swelling at how amazed his mother looked. "Last year, I was still technically a student, but now that I've passed my OWLs, I'm a full-fledged member of the staff. That way the only one I have to listen to is Hogwarts herself."

"You act as if the castle is alive," Padma said curiously.

"It is, in a way," Harry said. "Hogwarts is built directly on top of a powerful ley line, meaning that the natural magic all around us flows through her walls – that's part of why the wards are so powerful. That in itself would be enough to grant the castle a measure of sentience, when you add centuries of students and teachers practicing magic here, saturating the very air with their excess magic, you get a place that is almost guaranteed to have developed a mind of its own in some shape or form. How do you think I was assigned to this position last year when I never made any indication that I wanted it?"

The rest of the night passed fairly quietly, with Severus, Minerva, and Poppy coming up to join them, talking easily with Lily, Remus, and Sirius, while the students worked on their homework, and Harry stood behind his desk with no less than a dozen different textbooks open, facing a blackboard covered in equations and runes that only Lily, Severus, and Minerva could even begin to decipher.

"How far ahead is he?" Lily asked quietly as she watched her son pour over one of the textbooks conjure a bright green crystal that floated in the air before writing something down on his blackboard. "There are things written there that I only remember from studying for my Charms Mastery."

"If there's one thing Harry can be described as, it's curious," Sirius replied.

"Sirius is right," Remus added. "Harry finds few things as fun as trying to unravel the mysteries of the world around him. His inquisitiveness is something that the Wizarding World has been sorely lacking."

"I still can't believe that none of us thought to use Muggle Science in any of our own research," Poppy said.

"It might have something to do with none of us having the drive he does," Severus replied proudly. "A prerequisite to acquiring a Mastery of any branch of magic involves contributing research to help further the field. But most of the Wizarding World sees it as just that. A prerequisite. Being a master in a field nowadays is usually just a way for one to get themselves a high-paying job involving that field. We see research as a means to an end, Harry does not. If he did, he would have already been given his Rune Mastery, and an Order of Merlin First Class most likely."

"Why's that?" Lily asked.

"He developed an array that can stop the Killing Curse," Sirius explained. "As soon as it gets within range of the array, a block of ice forms that blocks the curse from ever hitting you. The only reason not everyone has one yet is because he's only recently worked out the kinks, and even then, there's a large risk of collateral damage if anyone is in the path of the exploding ice. Plus with his reputation as it is now, Amelia can't secure the funding to supply him with the necessary diamonds. I think he's nearly found a way around that though."

Harry could feel his mother watching him as he conjured another gemstone and chipped off a piece. He had already corresponded with Tracey's mother, and done his own research to figure out how Muggles created diamonds in a lab, but the only problem was that those diamonds had no natural magic, and thus didn't work well as conductors for his array. Alternatively, naturally grown diamonds were saturated with natural magic, and were the only gemstone classified by goblins as mundane that still had magical properties and could withstand dragon fire. As such, Harry had to figure out a way to create proper magical diamonds that would never vanish or be overloaded with magic. He was just reading over an alchemical formula that he thought might help when a loud crack brought his and everyone else's attention to the middle of his floor where he saw a pile of limbs struggling against one another.

Thinking fast, he wished for his office to conceal his mother and Kyddris, who had been curled up in his usual corner with Rosie, before grabbing his staff and petrifying the people wrestling in his office. With them all frozen, Harry finally got a good look at who had just managed to somehow apparate into his office. His question was answered when he noted that one of the combatants was Kreacher, who had his teeth plunged into the arm of the tall black man Harry remembered as Kingsley Shacklebolt, while under them both was a short wizard with bandy legs and long, straggly ginger hair. His bloodshot brown eyes were wide as he seemed to be trying to crawl away from the scuffle between the other two.

Standing up and looming over the three of them, Harry released Kreacher while leaving the other two where they were.

"Kreacher, what is the meaning of this?"

"Kreacher found it! Kreacher finally found what great Master Regulus left behind, but he found the filthy short one trying to steal it while the other one was trying to undo bad Master and Mister Harry Potter's protections around the Ancestral Home of Black. Kreacher knew that stupid Master Sirius, and Mister Harry Potter could help him, so Kreacher tried to take it, but the nasty wizards attacked Kreacher. Kreacher came here because Mister Harry Potter was asking him to when Kreacher found locket so that Kreacher could finally be good elf and follow Master Regulus' final wishes."

Harry turned to the two wizards and shot two powerful stunners at them without a word, making their eyes roll up in their heads as he snapped into action. Stepping over to Kreacher, he kneeled down in front of him. "You have done well, Kreacher. You are a good elf. Now, I need you to give me the locket so I can destroy it."

Tears filled Kreacher's eyes, and Harry couldn't help but pity the retched thing as it hiccoughed and handed him the locket. Harry took a moment to analyse it. The locket itself hung from a fine golden chain, and was heavier in his hand than something of that size should have been, no matter how pure the gold. On its face was a serpentine S, inlaid with glittering, green stones. It reminded Harry of a miniscule snake curled up and poised to strike. Narrowing his eyes, Harry raised the locket to his ear and listened as a miniscule ticking sound could be heard from within the locket.

Placing the locket on his desk, Harry quickly raised his hand to the two members of the Order of the Phoenix and wiped their memories before ordering Kreacher to bring them back to Grimmauld Place and scold them for trying to get past his and Sirius' defences. The two would wake up and think that they had simply been knocked out by their defences and provide Harry and Sirius with a good reason to rip into either them or Dumbledore.

"Tipsy," he called out, smiling as his loyal friend appeared with a bow. "I need you to take a look at this locket, is it anything like what you found in me and the diadem?"

Tipsy marched over to the desk and picked up the locket, peering at it suspiciously before hurling it back down in disgust. "It is the same as whatever dark force was inside the diadem and you Master Harry."

"Harry, if you don't mind, I'd like to analyse it myself," Severus said as he stepped forward. Harry nodded and stepped aside while he went over to explain things to his mum.

"Last year, I found Ravenclaw's lost diadem. The office gave it to me when I wished for something to help me deal with the sphinx in the maze. It turned out, though, that it was filled with extremely dark magic. Tipsy said that whatever it was in the diadem was the same as the piece of Riddle's soul that she and Zephyr managed to pull out of my scar."

"Are you suggesting that You-Know-Who somehow managed to… _split_ his soul?" Minerva asked.

Severus scowled and threw the locket onto Harry's desk. "This confirms it," he muttered. "He made Horcruxes."

Poppy gasped in terror while everyone else looked confused.

"What's a Horcurx?" Neville asked.

"It's the most horrible magic there is," Poppy explained. "It involves a wizard or witch forcibly tearing apart their soul and placing it inside an object. That way, if their body is destroyed they could technically still survive."

"How do you know about them?" Severus asked.

"I was apprenticed to a Healer from Egypt. He was a master of soul-based magic, and taught me about it," Poppy replied. "I never thought I would ever see one in real life, though." She then turned to Harry, fear in her eyes. "You're saying that there was one _inside_ you?"

Harry nodded, making Lily shriek in dismay. "Why would he turn Harry into a Horcrux?!"

"He might not have meant to," Severus replied. "Between this locket and the diadem both imply that he made multiple Horcruxes as a precautionary measure. It's possible that when his Killing Curse rebounded, whatever was left of his soul simply latched on to the nearest living thing."

"I'm willing to bet the diary was one as well," Harry said. "It makes more sense than a memory being preserved and possessing students."

"Hey, that looks like the locket Slytherin is wearing in the painting of him," Tracey noted.

"There's a painting of Slytherin?" Blaise asked. "Why haven't we seen it?"

"There's a muggle painting containing all four founders in each prefects' bathroom," Minerva explained. "How Miss Davis knows this is another matter, though."

"She knows because she sometimes stays with me on nights where she doesn't feel safe with Slytherin," Susan said, stepping in front of her terrified girlfriend, despite the burning red on her face.

"Is it at all possible that this locket belonged to Slytherin?" Sirius asked.

"Could be," Remus agreed. "If he used Ravenclaw's diadem, then he would definitely try to use something that belonged to his own ancestor."

"If that's the case," Harry concluded, holding his one hand out to Severus while summoning his sword with the other. "I think I know how to destroy it."

Severus tossed the locket to Harry, who caught it and laid it down on a stone table that his office had just provided him. Focussing on the snake-like pattern on the lockets face, Harry hissed " _Open,"_ in Parseltongue, causing the gold doors to fling open and a pair of handsome brown eyes to swivel about watching them before a dark mist erupted from the inside of the locket.

Harry noticed that the mist seemed to be hissing to everyone but him and Daphne, and rushed forward to stab the locket, not willing to allow Voldemort to possess any more of his friends. With a mighty swing, he cleaved the locket in two, slicing right through the hinge holding the two halves together, and causing the black mist to ripple violently. Summoning his staff back to him, Harry focused on the feeling he had when he stopped the Fiendfyre in Italy, and launched a bolt of bright, emerald green light out of his hand while the dragon core glowed powerfully. The bolt of light struck the mist at the same instant Kyddris unleashed a jet of flame and Zephyr blasted it with his own bolt of electricity. The three powerful attacks converged and obliterated the dark mist, filling the air with a piercing shriek of pain as the remains of the Horcrux was destroyed.

Silence filled the office as understanding of what just happened and the implications of facing an all but immortal enemy started to set in until Remus stood with a groan, breaking it.

"With that taken care of, I think it's time for the students to make get to bed before curfew sets in."

Neville, Padma, Parvati, Susan, Tracey, and Blaise all looked like they wanted to protest but a hard stare from Harry's already slit pupils told them that he wasn't in the mood to stay human much longer, and none of them were in the mood to be around a giant indestructible chimera when Harry wasn't in full control of it. Nightfire might not attack any of them, but Daphne was still the only human that was absolutely safe around him on the full moon, so they reluctantly agreed while Severus and Poppy decided to escort them out. Lily chose to stay, trusting that her son wouldn't hurt her any more than he would hurt Daphne, and watched as Minerva and Sirius changed into their respective Animagus forms. Remus stepped into another room to change, and Lily moved to a couch near the fire next to Daphne as Harry gave her one last hug before stepping away.

"You might want to cover your ears," Daphne said as Harry grunted and sunk to his knees.

Lily was about to ask why when a sickening tearing and cracking filled the air. Unlike Remus, whose clothes would be destroyed with every transformation, Lily watched as Harry seemed to painfully change shape, his robes transfiguring the same way Sirius and Minerva's did, yet his body still being forced to physically change into a monstrous beast. Tears filled her eyes as she listened to him grunt quietly and watched as he grit his teeth against the pain, until finally Padfoot and Minerva's cat-form walked over to curl themselves around him and Harry finished his transformation.

Nightfire stood up and nuzzled Padfoot as he panted from the effort used to change. Taking a deep breath, he smelled the Fire Hair and padded over to where she was seated next to his Sunshine. Giving her a sniff, he purred happily at the familiar scent, and licked her from cleft to crown before doing the same to his Sunshine and turning back to play with Padfoot, Moony, and Minerva.

*(OoO)*

November turned to December with a sudden blanket of snow that sent just as many students indoors to the comfort of a soft chair and warm fire as it sent outside to engage in snowball fights of epic proportions and filling the grounds with a crowd of snowmen. The Ministry had yet to report on Harry's break in to the Department of Mysteries, but Minerva and Severus had told him that both Dumbledore and Riddle were aware of the destruction of the prophecies, but thanks to Nicolas thinking to go back and destroy more than just the prophecies pertaining to Harry, neither had any idea that Harry had been involved. Because of this, Riddle's attempts to secure the Oracle of Delphi increased, but were foiled when Lily sent word to the covens, and the Oracle was taken into hiding. It apparently took quite a while to convince the coven to move the Oracle, and even then, it was simply moved to another one in Europe, but Harry was thankful when Sirius relayed the reports that the attacks in Italy had lessened once word got out that the Oracle wasn't there.

Harry had been pleased, and hoped that the Circle wouldn't be sending him into anymore warzones, and, in a way, that was true, as the next time Daphne flinched and received his mission from the Circle, it came in the form of several French Muggle newspapers detailing a series of gruesome murders. Daphne informed him that horrific acts were apparently being perpetrated by a group of wizards and that he was being tasked to investigate and stop them. There was a convenient lack of information pertaining to who the group of wizards were, as all Daphne had received when she tried to do as Perenelle had instructed and gain additional information was that the artefact that issued the missions saw them as abominations and that the enemy would be using them to further his goals.

Harry immediately called Sirius to tell him what he had learned, and ask if Amelia knew anything that would be helpful, he then sat down and penned a quick letter to Lucas Delacour, repeating the question. He desperately hoped the man would take him seriously, but wouldn't be able to do anything until he either got some more news, or the Circle saw fit to send him on another mission. In the meantime, he studied the stories, and noted that each of the murders seemed more like those committed by a wild animal or a lunatic with a knife as opposed to the usual Muggle reports of people mysteriously dropping dead out of nowhere.

Severus had promised to try and look into it too, but didn't hold out too much hope. Riddle attracted all sorts of insanity, and while most of his forces in Britain were disguised behind the veil of aristocracy, the same couldn't be said about the rest of his growing army. In fact, many of them would revel in being known as an abomination.

Knowing that there was little else to be done, Harry settled for focussing on his teaching and perfecting the plan to break Bella out of Azkaban. They had worked out most of the kinks, and by the time the last day of term rolled around, they were completely ready for their assault on the wizard prison. That night, Harry, Minerva, Severus, and Lily gathered together in the library of Potter Manor. Sirius had provided them with an approximate location of where Azkaban could be located in the North Sea, and would be waiting for them to return. Harry had pinned his Invisibility Cloak to his shoulders, and Severus, Minerva, and Lily were all disguised with Polyjuice Potion to look like three random Muggles that Harry had taken hair from at a barbershop in Banff. Lily had been transformed into a short pudgy man with wispy blonde hair and an abundance of acne, while Severus had transformed into a thin waif of a woman with dark skin and cornrows, and Minerva had changed into a girl of no older than Harry with bright green hair arranged in a Mohawk.

Daphne and Tracey, who were staying at Potter Manor once more with their families, fought down their snickers at how ridiculous they all seemed, and Harry gave Daphne a wink before the four of them disapparated away. He had told Daphne that he wanted to talk to her over the holidays, and she had been feeling victoriously smug for the remainder of the term. If it weren't for the fact that she had been raised to act like a proper lady, Daphne might have even described herself as giddy. She was careful in not letting Harry know that she was aware of him having finally given in to his feelings – he had a hard enough time articulating what he was feeling as it was, and she wasn't going to let him use her ability to read him like a book as a crutch – but the fact that he had become even more affectionate than he normally was, and seemed to switch between pointedly looking everywhere but at her, and staring at her like she was the most exquisite thing he had ever seen, pretty much gave him away. It got to the point where even Neville and Padma, the two most romantically oblivious members of their little circle of friends, were able to see what was going on and teasing Daphne relentlessly.

Daphne took it all in stride, secretly grateful for the dose of normal teenage antics to distract her from the secret three-way wars, and, more recently, the fact that Cyrus Greengrass nee Temple was apparently lobbying for the right to negotiate family contracts. Daphne's mother had been called back to Britain several times to make appearances at Gringotts to rebuke him, and Daphne couldn't help but dread the day that Cyrus decided to use that as an opportunity to kidnap her mother, or simply remove her from the equation itself. At the moment, he couldn't do anything, due to the fact that the Goblin Nation had reinstated Gringotts' non-goblin war-time measures, turning it into a sort of No Man's Land. There were already reports of people going into hiding in their vaults around the world, while countless fights broke out right in front of the various Gringotts branches, and thanks to Harry's close relationship with the Goblin Nation, he had managed to convince Ragnok to include a portkey directly into the bank itself whenever Penelope was called in to once again remind Cyrus of the fact that he didn't have the authority as a proper Greengrass to negotiate family contracts. He may carry their name and political capital, but she maintained control of the family itself.

Harry and the others all appeared almost directly on the coast of the North Sea, outside of a little fishing village. The wind was harsh and its frigid claws slashed at Harry's face, making the scar he got from the Horntail tingle. A quick warming charm took care of that issue as he looked around, making sure they were completely alone before calling Kyddris and Zephyr to him, and changing himself into Nightfire. Zephyr grew himself to his full size, mentally groaning as he stretched all four sets of wings, before crouching down to allow Minerva to clamber onto his back, while Nightfire and Kyddris did the same for Lily and Severus respectively. Once they were all secure, the three of them launched themselves into the air, soaring high above the crashing waves. After about an hour of flying, the three of them landed, and Lily, Severus, and Minerva had reverted to their original state. They wouldn't have to worry about being seen anymore, as the only humans they would encounter from here on out were prisoners trapped within their own minds. Harry reverted to his human form and looked around, taking in the place that had robbed his godfather of so much of his spirit. They were standing atop a massive triangular tower built of cold grey stone that seemed as if it was permanently wet. There were no signs of life anywhere outside the tower, and when Harry looked over one of the edges at the ground hundreds of feet below, all he found was a small graveyard.

Taking a deep breath and shivering, he knew that the dementors had already realised that they had arrived. By the time the black cloud of tattered cloth found its way to their location, the dementors were forced to back off as they were met with a pair of silvery does, a cat, and a massive wyvern. Harry heard his mother gasp as she looked between her Patronus, and Severus' but left them to work that out as he closed his eyes and focused on Bella.

 _Bella, I'm here to get you._

 _Please Mister Harry, hurry! I think the Scary Lady's friends are looking to break her out soon as well._

 _I'll be right there,_ Harry promised. He vaguely heard Kyddris and Zephyr assisting the others in holding off the dementors, but maintained his focus on Bella as he walked around the roof locating her cell. They had learned from Sirius that the worst of the worst were kept in the highest floor of Azkaban, and thus it was no trouble whatsoever for Harry to tap his staff against the floor, and blast a hole directly into the cell of one Bellatrix Lestrange. Taking advantage of her glee at what she thought was her fellow Death Eaters breaking her out, Harry fired a stunner through the dust and debris and knocked her out before Bellatrix could put up any sort of guard. He quickly pulled her unconscious body out of the cell and repaired the damaged roof. He then called Tipsy and had her transport his mother, Severus, and Minerva back to Potter Manor while Kyddris returned to his tattoo and Zephyr brought Harry and Bella back.

When he returned, Harry saw the others all slumped on the ground, panting in exhaustion from the effort of keeping so many dementors at bay. He felt the drain as well, and had he not had the help of his staff, odds are he would be just as exhausted as the rest of them. Either way, Harry knew his work wasn't over, as he still had to free Bella from whatever it was that had been placed on her. He carried over to one of the couches and laid her down gently. Kyddris returned from his tattoo, taking up almost the rest of the available space in the expansive library, and Harry looked between his two companions curiously.

 _"Let us help,"_ Kyddris hissed.

 _This girl has been robbed of her very self,_ Zephyr added. _Even if you managed to dispel the curse upon her and free her from the clutches of the entity that currently controls her mind, she would never be able to recover. Together, though, the three of us can grant her new life. Purge the malice that grips her so tightly, and lighten the burden of guilt she will doubtlessly carry upon her shoulders._

"Thank you, both of you," Harry said. Reaching inside himself, he grabbed hold of the dragon-like magic within him that was becoming more and more familiar before slipping into Parseltongue as he placed his hand on Bella's forehead. " _Legilimens."_

*(OoO)*

Daphne insisted on staying up to watch over Harry as he delved into the mind of Bellatrix Lestrange. She could see the strain on his face as he and Bellatrix fought mentally. Even unconscious, he would still have to deal with a mental projection that was composed entirely of malice, sadism, and evil. She could feel his horror and sorrow as he was forced to endure the years of suffering Bellatrix had both caused and experienced. His plan was act as a sort of reverse-dementor, and suck out as much of the negativity as he could so that Bella would only be left with a vague recollection of what she had been forced to do under Riddle's control. What she didn't understand was what part Kyddris and Zephyr were playing in the process, nor why he had never mentioned that they would be helping him. She could practically see the magic flowing off the three of them and into Bellatrix, but she had no idea what it was doing.

All of a sudden, a shaky gasp from Harry broke her from her thoughts and she sat down behind him, wrapping her arms around him and pressing her cheek against his back as she fought the feelings he was pulling out of Bella with her own feelings of love and happiness. She imagined how excited she was to finally have the relationship with Harry she had been hoping for since he had invited her to that ball a year ago, and allowed fantasies involving the two of them together to fill her mind. Her thoughts varied from mundane to downright carnal in nature, and she wasn't even aware of herself falling asleep as her dreams were comprised of much of the same, until eventually she was woken up by a sharp gasp from above her.

Not wanting to wake up yet, she shuffled closer to Harry and wrapped her arms around him and the bundle of warmth lying between them. She could hear the little bundle's soft breath as it in turn snuggled into her and Harry, clinging tightly to Harry's chest while he held both it and Daphne in his arms. Behind her, Daphne could hearing the Rosie's huffing breath as she curled up with her familiar, and the gentle scraping of Kyddris' scales as he shifted in his sleep told her that he had coiled around them all. She finally opened her eyes when whoever had entered the room tried to get near them and Kyddris let off a rumbling growl in warning, and was shocked to see a head of dark curly hair nestled against Harry's chest. Her shock grew as she noticed that the tiny bundle that had been between her and Harry seemed to be a small, dark-haired girl, lying nude between them, her tiny wings and tail twitching as she slept.

 _Wait… WHAT?!_

"Harry, wake up!" She hissed. Harry's eyes immediately snapped open, and he rushed to put himself between Daphne and whatever threat he thought had appeared – which turned out to be Sirius standing stock still while Kyddris eyed him wearily.

"Kyd, it's okay," Harry said wearily. Kyddris looked between Sirius and the little girl who was just now waking up, before hissing something to Harry and returning to his tattooed form, only for Rosie to get up and curl protectively around the little girl.

"Mister Harry?" The girl asked, sitting up as Sirius grabbed a blanket and draped it around her shoulders.

Daphne's breath caught as she looked at the girl's face. Her unruly hair framed her face, and she was almost unnaturally beautiful for a girl that Daphne figured could be no older than ten or eleven. What caught Daphne's attention, though, was the fact that her startling grey eyes had pupils the shape of slits, and the skin just beneath them looked somewhat harder and flaky. A closer inspection showed Daphne that the skin on her forearms, outer thighs, shins, and back was also like this, with it being more noticeable on her back as the flakes changed into the dark scales covering the strange serpentine tail sprouting from the base of the girl's spine.

Harry seemed unfazed by these changes as he started to inspect the girl for injury. "How are you feeling, Bella?" He asked, causing both Daphne and Sirius to gasp.

"That's… Bellatrix?" Daphne asked hesitantly while Sirius just collapsed onto one of the couches that hadn't been crushed when Kyddris had released himself.

Harry nodded and wrapped the blanket even tighter around Bella's shoulder before pulling her onto his lap. "We'll wait until everyone's woken up, then I'll explain everything." He lowered his head to nuzzle Bella's neck and tickled her sides making her giggle musically. "In the meantime, I think someone needs some proper clothes."

He called Tipsy down and asked for her to find Bella something to wear. By the time everyone had awoken and gathered in the dining room, Bella was dressed in a bright pink t-shirt with holes cut in the back for her wings, and jeans with another hole for her tail. She seemed to be extremely shy around the others and generally hid behind Harry as he explained what happened.

"The curse that Bella's parents cast on her was a variation on the Imperius Curse. Where the Imperius can force a person to do whatever the caster wants, the spell Bella's parents cast on her forced her to actively believe whatever they wanted. They thought she was too kind and weak for the House of Black, so before she went to Hogwarts, they pretty much placed an entirely new personality in her head. Bella, the sweet little girl was repressed, and a darker, more evil Bellatrix took her place. In order to get rid of it, I spent the night rooting through Bella's memories and everything from when she was trapped inside Bellatrix. She has an academic knowledge of what happened, but can't remember any of it, as I took the memories into my own mind and sorted through anything useful. The reason she looks like she does now, is thanks to Kyddris and Zephyr, together they used incredibly old and powerful magic to essentially build Bella a new body. The fact that Kyddris and I were both using dragon magic is the reason she's not one hundred percent human, but now, at least, she won't be trapped in the body of a mass-murderer."

"Hello Bella," Daphne said softly. "My name's Daphne Greengrass. I'm one of Harry's friends."

"I know you," Bella murmured shyly. "Harry would think about you a lot while I was wandering around his mind. He's told me about all of you."

"So, what do you plan on doing with her?" Severus asked.

"She turns eleven in March, so I was hoping Sirius and Mum could help me look after her until she gets her Hogwarts letter."

"You don't think that will raise some red flags?" Remus asked. "Considering that both her letter and the list Minerva reads for the sorting will both read Bellatrix Lestrange?"

"What if it didn't?" Astoria suggested, flushing as everyone turned their attention to her. "She's basically a new person anyways, right? Why not just change her last name?"

"We'll look into it," Lily said, her maternal instincts going into overdrive as she watched her son interact with the little girl. "In the meantime, aren't your NEWTs scheduled for this week Harry?" Harry nodded and she smiled. "Great, while you're revising and taking your exams, Bella and I can get properly acquainted."

Harry breathed a sigh of relief that everyone seemed to be accepting Bella, and tucked into his breakfast with vigor matched only by the girl in question. After breakfast, he disappeared into his study, and wasn't seen until the night before his NEWTs, where he came sprinting out of the study towards the library where he quickly vanished in a burst of green flames, leaving everyone extremely confused when he returned several hours later nearly skipping with happiness.

"I know that I tease him for being broody," Sirius quipped. "But giddy Harry might actually be worse."

"Very funny, Padfoot," Harry deadpanned as he dropped into the seat next to Daphne and a sleepy Bella, who immediately crawled into his lap. Harry grinned and held Bella close with one arm, wrapping the other around Daphne's shoulders before leaning down and whispering in her ears. "Make sure to force me to talk to you tomorrow after my NEWTs, alright?"

Daphne beamed and nodded, shifting into a more comfortable position against him and taking a moment to absorb how happy he looked as he gently stroked Bella's hair. She and Harry had spent nearly every night for the last two months together in the safety of Harry's mind, and she could see the result of the bond that had created in the way Harry acted around her. At the current moment, there was so much love flowing out of Harry that Daphne actually had to swallow back tears of joy while her chest tightened with the unbridled emotion.

*(OoO)*

To say Daphne waited patiently while Harry was at the Ministry would be nothing short of an outright lie. Were it not for Bella, Tori, and Tracey working to distract her, odds are she would have paced a hole right through the floor of Potter Manor. She was back on her feet when Harry finally stepped through the door, half a sandwich in his mouth as he tiredly read another letter. Kicking herself for not sensing that he had arrived through their bond, and cursing his annoying ability to apparate silently, Daphne marched forward and grabbed him by the collar, dragging him up to the master bedroom, relishing in Harry's internal conflict between panic, regret, and that stupid Gryffindor courage of his. She was further annoyed when they arrived and she tried to push him into the room, only to push herself backwards while he barely moved an inch.

Harry smirked as she huffed in frustration. He was constantly trying to get her to join him for his daily exercises, but, like most of the wizarding world, teenagers in particular, she and physical exertion had a frosty relationship at best.

"Why hello, Sunshine, it's good to see you too," he drawled. "The NEWTs went fine, by the way, thanks for asking."

"Save it," Daphne deadpanned. "You could have passed those in your sleep. There's something else that you have to tell me."

She felt Harry's courage win out and he took a deep breath before looking her in the eyes. Excitement filled every inch of Daphne's being as she waited to hear the words she had been working so hard to convince him to admit to her.

"You wanna go out sometime? You know, like a date?"

Whatever Harry was expecting it most certainly was not Daphne staring at him wide-eyed and slack-jawed before composing herself and smacking him over and over on the chest. "You. Stupid. Bloody. Moron!" She shouted angrily. "I spend nearly an entire year dropping hints that I want to be your girlfriend, and all I get is 'you wanna go out sometime'?! How is it, Harry James Potter, that you can simultaneously be the most amazing man I've ever met, and also such a thick-headed git?!"

"So, what I'm hearing is you _do_ want to go out sometime?"

"Yes, you idiot!" Daphne exclaimed. "For Merlin's sake! You'd think _you,_ of all people, would have an ounce of romanticism! But no! First you ruin our first kiss, now you just take me aside and ask me to go out with you like you wanted to know my opinion on the weather?!"

"I can be romantic!" Harry replied indignantly. "In fact, I've been planning our first date for over a month!"

"And you didn't think to plan for a better way to ask me?"

"I still wasn't sure you would say yes! You're the single most important thing in my world, and I wasn't about to risk any of that with some stupid speech! Besides…" his voice dropped and his eyes seemed to glow as they stared into Daphne's. "Whenever I see you and think about you that way, I can't help but forget everything else that was in my head. There wasn't any point of preparing some fancy confession when the moment I looked at you, I would forget it all and sound like an idiot as I struggled to –"

He was quickly silenced as Daphne wrapped her arms around his neck and forced him down into a brutal kiss that filled her with fire, and made her toes curl as he pulled her close to him. Their lips moved against one another, and she felt his tongue hungrily asking for entrance, which she quickly allowed, the fire in her veins threatening to burn her from the inside out as he took his time to explore every centimeter of her mouth, rumbling happily as he greedily basked in the taste of vanilla and mint.

"See," she panted breathlessly when they finally pulled apart for air. At some point they had wound up on Harry's bed with her laying spread out on top of him. " _That's_ how you give someone their first kiss."


	32. Chapter 32

Christmas morning, Harry was woken up by an overexcited Bella.

"Harry, wake up! Wake up! It's Christmas! You gotta see all the presents I got! It's amazing!"

Harry groaned and wrapped his arms tighter around his girlfriend. He smiled again as he thought about the fact that he was dating Daphne Greengrass.

Well, they hadn't actually gone on their first date yet, but that would be fixed by the end of the day. The others had immediately noticed the slight shift in their relationship and taken the opportunity to tease them both mercilessly, ending with Sirius being bald after making a crack about contraceptive charms in front of everybody. Of course, that still didn't stop him, but once Amelia saw the results of his teasing during one of her visits with Susan, she quickly put a stop to it. Thankfully, Harry and Lily had been able to brew him a simple hair-growth potion, and his trademark shoulder-length locks were back.

Other than the teasing, Harry was grateful that not much had really changed between himself and Daphne. They were already thick as thieves, but now they both felt a bit more comfortable showing greater levels of affection in public, while in private, they simply ended up adding snogging to the list of things they enjoyed doing together. In fact, now that Harry had tried kissing her properly, he never wanted to stop, and was perfectly aware of the fact that Daphne was reveling in the fact that she could kiss him to the point of nearly losing control of his Animagus.

"Wildcat, that better not be your little girl waking me up at some ungodly hour in the morning," Daphne grumbled as Bella bounced on their bed, trying to get them up.

"You think every hour in the morning is ungodly," Harry retorted, leaning forward to place a soft kiss on the underside of her jaw. He then turned to Bella and grinned as she watched them with a sour expression before reaching out and pulling her down on top of him, causing her to be reduced into peals of laughter. She quickly calmed down as Harry's arms wrapped around her, though, and snuggled closer to Harry's chest, while her reptilian tail reached out and curled around Daphne's waist. "Bella, what time is it?"

"Dunno," Bella yawned as she buried her head in Harry's baggy t-shirt. "Was too dark to see the clock when I came up here."

Harry chuckled as she was already falling back to sleep now that she was safely cocooned in his arms, and smiled softly when Daphne turned over to rest her own head on his shoulder, reaching out to stroke her hand through Bella's soft, dark curls.

"I'm proud of you, you know," she murmured against his neck. "For what you're doing for her."

"Thanks," Harry replied softly. "That still doesn't mean I'm going to tell you where we're going for our date today."

Daphne grumbled quietly and looked up at him with an exaggerated pout. "Can't I even get a hint?"

"Nope," Harry replied with a cheeky grin. Eventually, Harry fell back to sleep, only to wake up to the flash of a camera and the sound of Lily, Penelope, and Alannah cooing over them while Tracey, Astoria, Remus, and Sirius snickered by the door. "Morning all," he croaked quietly.

"Good morning, Sweetheart," Lily replied, crouching down to brush some of Harry's hair out of his face. Harry smiled and watched as his mother turned her attentions to Bella, who was laying on top of Harry's chest still, while Daphne had her arms wrapped around them both. It took another ten minutes to wake the both of them up, and after that, the energy level inside of Potter Manor skyrocketed as Tori reminded Bella what day it was, and the two of them sprinted around the house singing carols at the top of their lungs until Minerva and Severus arrived and joined them for Christmas breakfast consisting of cinnamon rolls curtesy of Tipsy, Dobby, and Kreacher.

After breakfast, they retired to the library, where Harry lit a cozy fire with a wave of his hand before curling up with Daphne, Bella, and Rosie on one of the couches while everyone but Sirius took a seat elsewhere as he started handing out the presents that were piled underneath the humongous fur that Dobby and Tipsy had somehow managed to get inside for them to decorate earlier in the week. Harry laughed and smiled as he watched the others open presents, but sobered slightly when Sirius handed him that said it was jointly from himself, Remus, and Lily. Opening the gift slowly, Harry found a small box filled with tiny vials of glowing, silvery liquid.

"Those are all memories involving us and our time before going into hiding," Lily explained. "I know you've been tinkering with the pensieve in your study, so you can watch them whenever you want."

Harry was speechless as he tearfully embraced his mother. The two of them held each other for a long time before he felt composed enough to let go, and even then he pulled her down onto the couch next to him while Rosie repositioned herself grumpily at their feet.

"Before we lose ourselves in memories of the past, there are a few new ones that I would like to help create," Minerva said as she stood up and reached into her robes. She pulled out an envelope bearing the seal of the Ministry and smiled as she handed it to Harry. "I hope you don't mind, but I stopped by the Ministry before coming here to pick this up for you."

"Thank you, Minerva," Harry said as he broke the seal and opened the envelope. He froze as he read the contents of the letter, and Minerva smirked while Sirius stepped forward and yanked it out of his hands.

"Merlin's tits!" He exclaimed making Lily, Minerva, Penelope, and Alannah smack him over the head for his language while Bella simply giggled. "Harry, not even your mum got straight Os!"

"What did he test in?" Remus asked.

"Defence, Potions, Transfiguration, Charms, Runes, Arithmancy, _Alchemy_ , Care of Magical Creatures, and Herbology. Guess old Nicolas must've really rubbed off on you, eh?"

Harry shrugged sheepishly, his face burning with embarrassment as everyone stared at him in amazement. "Guess you could say that, yeah. I'm surprised about the Herbology one, though. Was certain I wasn't going to score higher than an E."

"Oh, Harry, I'm so proud of you!" Lily cried as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "I knew you would grow up to be a great wizard."

"There's more," Sirius said, bringing everyone's attention back to him. "According to this, Harry's already being head-hunted by a few masters who want to take him on as an apprentice, including – if I'm reading this right – Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?"

"I'm not sure I understand," Harry said slowly, looking between Minerva and Severus with a confused expression on his face.

"It wouldn't be easy," Severus warned. "But many of the teachers in Hogwarts would like to take a more active role in your education."

"You have a very unique mind, Harry," Minerva added. "We believe that with proper guidance, you could be the one to advance our understanding of magic and its properties more than any who came before you. On top of that, with the exception of Dumbledore, the Hogwarts staff are among the most accomplished individuals of our age, and would be able to impart upon you knowledge that will undoubtedly aid you in the coming battles."

"What would it entail?"

"There are very few hard-and-fast rules when it comes to earning your Mastery in a field of study," Severus explained. "The only requirements are that you spend at least a year under the tutelage of someone who already has their Mastery, and you must submit something, be it a new spell, potion, invention, etcetera, that involves that field. With the exception of Alchemy, you would be spending the next eight years at Hogwarts, learning all there is to learn from its teachers at a level few ever reach, while imparting your own knowledge to the next generation of students."

"What about the war?" Harry asked. "And the Circle?"

"Harry, those rune stones of yours that you're working on," Remus said. "The ones that can block the Killing Curse? Those would already garner you a Mastery in Runes, Arithmancy, Transfiguration, Defence, and Charms. None of us have any doubt that you would be able to get the rest as well on your own either. What you're being offered, though is access to their knowledge and resources. There are certain materials and texts that can only be acquired by having or studying for your Mastery."

"Of course, I've also taken the liberty to contact a few old friends who will be coming to Hogwarts to help with your studies," Minerva stated. "They are quite eager to meet you. But, in essence, we want to allow you unfettered access to whatever information you need."

"What about Umbridge?" Tori asked.

"Tori's right," Bella added. "From what I've heard, that nasty woman and the Ministry won't like that people coming to help Harry."

"I can handle that," Harry reassured her. "Hogwarts technically belongs to me. They can't kick anyone out of the building without my say so."

"If only it were that easy for us to kick someone out," Sirius muttered petulantly.

"Thank you," Harry said, wrapping his arms around Minerva. "I can't begin to tell you how much it means that you would do this for me." Minerva smiled and returned the embrace, more than aware of how rare it was for Harry to initiate something of this sort, and idly wondering when he had gotten so much taller than her.

After that, the day passed in a flurry of activity, as Sirius went to go fetch Amelia and Susan, while Harry did the same for Neville and his grandmother Augusta, who Harry worried was about to have a coronary when she first laid eyes on his mother.

"Lily…" she gasped. "It can't be."

"Hello Augusta," Lily said shyly.

"But… how?"

"It's a long and rather complicated story," Sirius replied while Amelia as well stared slack-jawed at Lily. "But I can assure you that she is none other than Lily Potter."

It took a while and several personal questions to convince them both that Harry's mum was indeed who she said she was, but when she had, both Amelia and Augusta welcomed her back with open arms and teary eyes. Eventually, it came time for Harry to announce that he and Daphne were leaving, though they were delayed as Harry had to field the several protests about him going out alone. Particularly from Lily and Amelia. Especially when Harry told Daphne to dress for someplace warm.

"Would you two stop your worrying," Sirius said. "The cub's been planning this for a while. They aren't going anywhere near where the war is currently taking place, and Moony and I personally helped him with setting up the protections."

"So that means you know where he's taking me?" Daphne asked excitedly.

"Nice try, Sunshine," Harry said. "But we're leaving before you can interrogate them any further."

Daphne pouted, but it was quickly replaced with a smile as Harry held his arm out for her to grab. Once she did, he focused on their destination, and she had the most unpleasant sensation of being squeezed through a tube that was just slightly too small for her, before they landed and she collapsed to her knees while focussing on keeping the contents of her stomach from spilling out all over the warm, dark rock beneath her. Harry chuckled, and she turned her head to glare at him balefully.

"Not getting off to a stupendous start there, Potter," she grumbled as he helped her to her feet.

"Sorry," Harry replied unapologetically. "But we had to travel farther than Rosie's ever tried before, and using the Floo Network would have set off red flags with the MACUSA."

Daphne raised an eyebrow and looked around to finally take in where he had brought her. Wherever they were, it must have been a few time zones ahead of Potter Manor, as it had been mid-afternoon when they left, and it was now approaching sunset. Looking down, she noticed that they were on top of some sort of mountain, overlooking a lush forest comprised mostly of tall tree with wide, flat leaves at the top. The forest eventually gave way to a dazzling white beach followed by shining waves that lapped gently against the shore.

"Where are we?" She asked.

"Hawaii," Harry replied. "But there's a reason we're here and not down there."

Daphne opened her mouth to ask, but she was answered by an earthy rumbling and the sound of a fire crackling behind her. Turning around, she found herself looking across a crater, at the bottom of which was a lake of molten rock. Narrowing her eyes, she peered closer and noticed what looked like a basket and blanket sitting not far from the opening to the volcano.

"A romantic picnic on the beach would have been nice," Harry explained. "But I wanted to do something a little more… unique. I hope you like it."

Daphne was speechless as she reached down to grab Harry's hands while rising on her tip toes to plant a kiss on his lips. "It's fantastic," she murmured happily. Harry grinned, and Daphne followed along happily as he led her inside the mouth of the volcano, towards the picnic basket. "I expected it to be a lot warmer." She noted as they picked their way between some rocks.

"If it weren't for the protections I set up beforehand, we'd both be dead by now," Harry replied. "This is one of the most dangerous places in the world. Lava gives off all sorts of toxic gasses, and while we can't feel it, the heat is so intense that it would roast you before you got anywhere near it."

"You know, most guys just bring a girl out to dinner for a first date," Daphne quipped as they reached the edge of the lava pool, and Harry set up the blanket for them to sit upon.

"I'm not most guys," Harry retorted. "And you deserve better than that."

Once again, Daphne found herself speechless as she took a seat next to Harry and accepted the plate of chicken stir fry. The sun had just set as they were making their way down the mouth of the volcano, and she now watched in awe as the cooler rock on the surface became a top layer of liquid darkness, contrasted by the glowing cracks of fiery orange. There was another rumble, and she couldn't help but feel a similar fire light within her as she watched the raw power of the earth flow and roil before her. Her attention was brought back to her date by a flash of light as Harry released Kyddris, who immediately dove into the lava and started swimming around as if it were nothing more than a hot bath, and the fire inside Daphne's chest spread as she recognised the sheer power Harry must have needed to combat the Earth itself and create a safe environment for their picnic. Even as Kyddris, splashed around, sending molten sparks high into the air, none of them came anywhere near the two of them.

What truly moved Daphne, though, was what Harry was trying to convey to her without words.

Daphne was a Slytherin through and through, and while she wasn't ashamed of the traits that had placed her in the House of Snakes, she couldn't deny that she did make an effort to supress some of the more… undesirable aspects that were common among those in Slytherin. More specifically, her love of power.

Money, titles, and fame were nothing without the will to back them up. That belief was at the root of the ambition that had earned Daphne her place in Slytherin, and it was an important part of her. She had gone to Hogwarts with the determination to grow strong enough to free herself from the clutches of Cyrus Temple; to surpass him and take her rightful place as the head of House Greengrass before moving on to using that power to influence the change she wished to see in the world. But being around Harry, she had grown to realise that power came in many different forms, and that, even then, there were things that were more important than simply having the highest grades or being able to perform the strongest spells.

However, even if she had grown, her beliefs were largely the same, and for Harry to bring them here –to the sight of one of the most powerful forces on the planet – just for a date, it felt like he was acknowledging the fact that she had a lust for power, and accepting it as part of who she was.

Struggling to recompose herself, Daphne looked down at her stir fry and smiled. "How did you know this was my favourite?"

"Might have something to do with you being my best friend for the last two years," Harry replied nonchalantly as he poured her a glass of sparkling cider. "What should really impress you is that I managed to convince Tipsy and Dobby to let me into the kitchen to prepare it."

"Since when do you know how to cook?"

Harry shrugged. "I had to cook for the Dursleys since I was four or five. Picked up a thing or two."

Daphne reached down and squeezed his hand, grounding him in the present before his ghosts could get a proper hold of him. Harry smiled at the gesture and squeezed her hand in return. They sat there silently as they watched Kyddris frolic through the liquid rock, roaring happily as he dived down and leapt through the air. Eventually, Harry packed up the picnic and banished it away with a wave of his hand, and they reclined against a stack of pillows, the strength of his protections around them reducing the phenomenal heat to the comfortable warmth of a hearth while Kyddris exited the magma, his silvery scales glowing slightly as he shook off any remaining drops of lava like a dog after a bath, and curled up behind them.

"So, what was it that had you running out of the house in such a tizzy the day before your NEWTs anyway?" Daphne asked curiously as she nestled into Harry's chest.

"I had an idea for my class that I wanted to run by the teachers," Harry replied. "Something to add a bit of incentive to the little competition that I set up when they started."

"You mean besides the idea of having you teach us whatever we want if we win?" Daphne asked teasingly.

"Precisely. I realised something while I was studying, and it was only reaffirmed when Minerva and Severus told me about the offer to study under them and the other Hogwarts teachers," Harry explained. "I want to do more than just pass on what I know to the next generation of students. I want to help them grow to be the best they can be, and that involves more than just teaching them about spells and dueling."

"Whatever it is you have planned, I'm sure it'll be great," Daphne reassured him.

They didn't talk much after that. Both were too content to merely lay with the other as they watched the primal forces of the Earth churn and roil before them while Daphne found herself empathising with Harry whenever she would tease him in the morning after they had spent the night in the same bed. The fire burning just beneath her skin had only gotten stronger as she watched the lava explode into the air while the ground rumbled gently beneath them. Add the feeling of Harry stroking his fingers along her exposed skin – his magic once again flow through his fingertips and into her without him even realising – and it was only a matter of time before Daphne found herself straddling him, kissing him desperately as she fumbled with the buttons of his loose shirt.

She felt Harry's chest start to rumble in pleasure, and it made her quiver as it overshadowed the tectonic forces flowing through them both. She knew, though, that they wouldn't be going any further than what they were currently doing, as Harry's muscles stiffened when she pushed the sweat soaked shirt off his shoulders. She smiled at the apology in his eyes, carefully bringing herself down and winking mischievously as she laid down on top of him and purposefully rubbed against one particularly stiff muscle before settling against his chest, planting one last kiss against the bottom of his jaw while her fingers grazed along the thick, pale scars running down his torso.

"Happy Christmas, Sunshine," Harry murmured in her ear as he stroked his fingers through her long, golden hair.

Daphne smiled and closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of being so close to the one person who had so easily made his way past her icy walls and had taken residence in her heart as one of the most important things in her world. "Happy Christmas, Wildcat."

*(OoO)*

The rest of Christmas Break passed faster than Harry would have liked. He and Daphne returned to Potter Manor the day after Christmas, and Daphne was immediately pulled away by Tracey, Susan, Amelia, Penelope, Astoria, Alannah, and – surprisingly – Neville, while Harry dodged everyone else by grabbing Bella and dragging her along to go and meet Kanen. It only took a few well-placed glamours, and a bulky cloak to hide Bella's more draconian features as they walked down the streets of Magical Canada towards the surly Craftsman's shop. Kanen was just as intrigued by Bella's new form as the rest of them were, and it only took a single pleading look from her to convince him to craft her a wand so that she could get a head start on her education with Lily, Penelope, and Sirius while Harry and his friends returned to Hogwarts. After that, Harry returned her to Potter Manor while he took a trip to Gringotts to handle some business with Griphook and begin a long series of inquiries. He knew from the memories of Bellatrix Lestrange that he had taken from Bella that Riddle had entrusted her with something of importance to be placed in her vault – though Lestrange didn't know what it was – but Ragnok had informed him that there had been a change to Gringotts records stating that Bellatrix Lestrange didn't even exist, and that it coincided with around when he, Kyddris, and Zephyr had freed her from her curse and managed to grant her a new body. This made things quite a bit more difficult, as Harry had a hunch that the object Riddle had hidden inside the vault was another Horcrux, and there were only two remaining Lestranges that would be able to access the vault.

He had also taken the time to inquire about how his Potter, Gryffindor, and Slytherin rings had all seemingly been absorbed by his Peverell ring. Ragnok had theorised that it had to do with the fact that the Houses of Potter, Gryffindor, and Slytherin were all branches of the original Peverell House, but was unable to provide too many answers. He did say that the Peverell family was one of the oldest magical families, and as such, it would take time to even find their vault, as the protections around it were ancient and powerful, and Harry was reluctant to make any waves just yet.

Meanwhile, news had broken that Bellatrix Lestrange had broken out of Azkaban, but the Ministry had quickly squashed it by moving replacing it on the front page with another attack directed towards Harry, spinning the fact that he was donating funds for affordable and accessible Wolfsbane potions as speculation of whether Remus was using him to build a werewolf army. This kept the public from panicking, but Severus had relayed that Riddle had issued orders for Bellatrix to be found and brought back to him, as attempts to summon her through her Dark Mark had failed. Even Harry could feel his anger, so strong was it when his most fanatical supporter had seemingly vanished that his abilities as a Beacon had picked up on them, and he was forced to spend several hours locked away in Potter Manor, delicately separating his mind from Riddle's and erecting more defences without drawing his attention.

Besides those small distractions, most of the break was spent in Potter Manor. Harry would occasionally bring down the pensieve that he had been fiddling with, and watch some of the memories Sirius, Remus, and his mother had given him. He had taken measures to ensure that his own experiments didn't interfere with the basic functions of the pensieve, but other than that, Harry was reluctant to share what exactly it was that he was working on.

When Harry returned to Hogwarts with Daphne, Tracey, Susan, Neville, and Astoria, they arrived in the middle of the afternoon, giving them several hours of free time before the Hogwarts Express arrived. As soon as they arrived, though, Harry was called down to Minerva's office where she, Wilhelmina, and Severus were waiting with an elderly man with wavy, shoulder-length grey hair, a square jaw, shining blue eyes that reminded Harry of Dumbledore's own twinkling sapphires, immediately setting him on edge, and a crooked nose that looked like it had been broken several times.

"Professor Potter, I'd like to introduce to you one of the associates I was speaking about over the break," Minerva said once Harry had entered.

The old man stood to meet him and held his hand out with a warm grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Professor Potter. My name is Newton Artemis Fido Scamander."

"You're the author of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ ," Harry said with amazement as he shook Scamander's hand enthusiastically. He was still a little wary of the twinkling look in Scamander's eye _,_ but seeing as he felt no attempts to intrude on his thoughts, he allowed himself to relax slightly.

"Indeed I am," Scamander replied. "Minerva here was just informing me that your current Care of Magical Creatures professor has apparently been sent by Dumbledore on some sort of errand."

"Does that mean you're going to be taking over for him?" Harry asked.

Scamander chuckled and shook his head. "No, I think I'll leave the general education to Professor Grubbly-Plank. However, while Professor Hagrid is away, I thought I might as well drop by and help with the care of the various creatures on the Hogwarts grounds until he returns. It would also give me a chance to meet with one of the only people in the last century or so to receive an Outstanding on their Care of Magical Creatures NEWT."

"Well, I think I'll take my leave then," Wilhelmina announced, standing up and shaking Scamander's hand once more. "It was an honour meeting you, Mister Scamander, and I can't wait to work with you."

"So, you're here to help me accomplish my Mastery in Care of Magical Creatures?" Harry asked once the door had closed.

"I am indeed," Scamander replied. "I have no doubt that Professor Hagrid was quite accomplished in his field –"

"But considering the fact that he never made it past third year, as well as being a half-giant, the Ministry would have a field day slandering the two of us if I studied for my Mastery under him," Harry finished.

"Fortunately, Dumbledore has seen fit to send Hagrid and Madame Maxime to another Giant Tribe in Northern Germany," Severus said. "So we don't have to risk any hurt feelings."

Scamander shook his head disapprovingly at that and sighed. "I keep telling Dumbledore: the giants aren't mere barbarians he can win over with trinkets. They have a culture of their own that revolves around strength and power. Brilliant demonstrations of magic can distract and entertain them, but it will ultimately take a show of force to win the allegiance of the entire tribe."

"How long do you think it will take them to make contact with the tribe?" Harry asked.

"Considering that both Hagrid and Maxime are half-giants, side-along apparition and portkeys won't work well for them," Scamander replied. "Which means that they will need to at least use the International Floo, which could take several weeks to get the proper permissions considering everything going on in Eastern Europe at the moment."

"If that's the case, I'm going to send a message to Lucas and have him forward a few protections to Hagrid and Madame Maxime," Harry said. "I don't want him coming back looking like a pile of ground meat this time."

"That's very considerate of you, Harry," Minerva said approvingly. "Before you do though, would you mind giving us an update on your own French investigation?"

"Not at all," Harry replied, reaching into his robes and pulling out a small notebook. "Maybe you can help me, Mister Scamander."

"Please, Harry, call me Newt."

"Alright then." Harry opened the notebook and tapped it with his wand while hissing in Parseltongue. The blank pages of the notebook started to be filled with various writings as the pages themselves expanded to show the beginnings of a web diagram. "There have been a number of attacks on both Muggles and Magical individuals. Each of the attacks happened when the victim was alone in the wilderness, and while many of them have been written off as the work of some sort of vicious animal, I think there's something more going on."

"I'm inclined to agree with you," Newt said as he examined the macabre photos showing some of the victims. "The slash patterns on many of these would indicate something with claws, but they're all right-handed cuts. On top of that, there aren't any creatures that I can think of that would cause this sort of carnage to their prey. Whoever did this, was most certainly human. However, there are a few victims here that do show signs of being attacked by some sort of predator, but I would have to see the bodies themselves to discern anything more."

"Lucas Delacour is an associate of mine, and has told me that he would be keeping an eye on these attacks," Harry replied. "I'll make sure to ask him if we could examine the body in my letter tonight."

Their meeting done, Harry bid the three of them farewell and returned to his office for a few hours of peace before his mandatory reappearance in the Great Hall. He had been able to get out of the Halloween Feast by pulling the orphan card, but that wouldn't work this time, so it was with a long-suffering sigh that he got up, smiling as Kyddris returned to his tattoo form while Zephyr glided over to ride on his shoulder, and made his way to down. He was still slightly early, so the only students present were the friends that he had brought with him from Potter Manor.

He grinned as he strolled past the Slytherin table, winking at Daphne along the way, and made his way up to the empty seat at the end of the staff table right next to Newt. It was a rarity for Harry to even be seen in the Great Hall at all, as he preferred to eat either in the kitchen with the house elves, or in his office with his friends. As such, there were plenty of stares being directed his way when the students arrived and saw him sitting with the other members of staff. He could feel the resurgence of envy being directed towards him, as it was truly setting in how apart he was from his former peers, and Harry was sorely tempted to make for a quick exit, but stopped when he saw the proud grin on Daphne's face and felt Minerva reach around Newt to grip his arm comfortingly.

"Let them stare," she said. "You have worked tirelessly to get where you are. Don't let them take it away from you."

Harry smiled gratefully and nodded before returning to his discussion with Newt, who was completely enamored with Zephyr. He was distracted, though, when Colin Creevey, a fourth year Gryffindor, nervously approached the table to speak to him.

"U-um… P-Professor Potter?" Colin asked quietly.

"What can I do for you, Creevey?" Harry asked kindly, seeing how terrified the poor boy looked.

"I-I was just wondering if-if you were going to open up your office tonight. M-Me and Dennis b-both had some trouble with our homework assignments over the break, and-and I tried to help him, but I'm rubbish at Potions, and this Transfiguration assignment's a nightmare, and our parent are muggles, so we couldn't really ask them, and –"

"Colin, calm down," Harry said, bringing Colin's rambling to a screeching halt. "Of course my office will be open. But perhaps, next time, you both might want to think of owling someone, or even Professor McGonagall herself, before finding yourself in this situation. The point of the homework is to develop a better understanding of the material, and if you don't have the resources to help yourself, then it's up to you to find alternative solutions, understand?"

Colin grinned in relief, and nodded rapidly before bolting back to the Gryffindor table. Harry couldn't help but join Newt, Minerva, and several other teachers in chuckling softly as word spread that his office would be open and a collective sigh of relief seemed to spread through each of the House tables in a wave.

Once he was finished dinner, Harry beat a hasty retreat as he felt the eyes of both Dumbledore and Umbridge on him, and didn't feel like drawing too much of their attention on his first day back. Undoubtedly they had both heard about his NEWTs and his unorthodox apprenticeship to achieve several different Masteries at once, and he was not looking forward to dealing with them. Exiting the Great Hall, he summoned his staff back into his hand, taking comfort in the warm pulse of energy from his trusty companion, and reaching up to tickle both serpents on the chin when they unwound themselves to nuzzle against his cheek.

Despite the impending conversations with both Umbridge and Dumbledore, Harry couldn't help but be in a good mood as the term started back up. His schedule had changed due to him becoming an apprentice to the various masters teaching at Hogwarts, and as such, he was no longer forced to endure sitting through Umbridge's classes – where she had finally acquiesced to demonstrating some spells for the sole purpose of using Harry as a practice dummy – and would instead shadow each of his masters for half a day. Since there wasn't currently a Defence or Alchemy Master at Hogwarts, though, he would be spending the second half of Thursday in the Hospital Wing with Poppy, and would have Fridays to himself for his own personal studies.

Monday morning was being spent with Minerva. He helped out as usual in her classes, though it was clear that the higher years were not happy about him being there – especially when he demonstrated just how proficient he was by correcting Cho's mistake when she tried to transfigure her partner's hand into a bear paw. After that, he spent the afternoon with Severus in the dungeons, helping him with brewing several high-level potions while he lectured his class on the properties of Amortentia.

That night, Harry waited after his daily training regimen for his class fourth-to-seventh year class to arrive, going over the details of his latest plan in his head one last time.

"Welcome back, everyone," he called as the last of them arrived. "Now, before we get started, I'd like to make a little announcement about our little competition." This caught everyone's attention, as the top five positions on the blackboard Harry kept on the wall during his classes were constantly shifting (though he was proud to see that at least one of his friends at any time were consistently within or near the top ranks), and the competition had been especially fierce. "For the first time, you're all going to be assigned some homework."

Groans chorused throughout the room, and Harry smirked as he wished for quiet and his office immediately silenced them all.

"That's better," he said once they had all realised the futility of trying to speak. "Now, I'm going to explain what I want you all to do, and then you'll be free to groan as much as you want. Though, I feel that I should warn you, that any people I catch complaining will be having me as their dueling partner. Anyways, the homework I'm assigning you all, is more of an out of class project. Each of you are assigned to create something. Be it a new spell, a potion, some sort of invention, whatever you can think of. Let your imaginations roam free. Near the end of term, I want you all to present to me what it is that you've come up with, and I will use those in my consideration of the final placements whom I will each teach something personally." Everything from excitement to dread passed over the faces gathered in front of him, and he smiled, removing the silencing charm when Ginny raised her hand. "Yes, Weasley?"

"How are you going to make sure that it's a fair playing field?" Ginny asked. "If we all have to invent something new, then the seventh years are going to have a much bigger advantage than us fourth years."

"Like with your regular classwork, your projects will take in the context of your education," Harry replied. "Sixth and seventh years, for example will be required to provide more detailed explanations for their creations, and any spells they invent must also be shown both with the incantation and silently. On top of that, no experimenting can be done without the supervision of myself, or one of the other members of staff – who have all agreed to help you all and provide their not unimpressive knowledge as an available resource. They will be helping me with coming up with the final placements, as they will also be seeing how hard you're working, and the effort you're putting into it. Lastly, you can work in groups if you like, but you will be graded separately, so don't expect your friends to carry you to the top of the board or anything."

He noted just how excited Fred and George seemed to be able to experiment without the risk of being punished, and smiled as the possibilities started to set in for some of the other students. Others looked as if they were going to be ill at the idea of having to create something themselves.

The rest of the class passed with little fanfare, and by the time Harry sent them down for dinner, he couldn't help but smile as many of them were already discussing what they wanted to do. His smile faded, however, when a house elf appeared at his side and quietly handed him a note telling him that he was to be in Dumbledore's office that night at eight o'clock sharp.


	33. Chapter 33

Harry was quite a bit early for his appointment with Dumbledore, and so walked leisurely towards the Headmaster's office, smiling as he watched Peeves applying a generous coating of what looked like wax to some staircases on the way. Discretely, he placed cushioning charms at each landing, just to make sure that no one hurt themselves, but other than that, he left the poltergeist to his fun. He jovially returned the greeting of the few students still walking about, the light tapping of his staff against the ground announcing his presence and providing for a fair bit of entertainment as some students rushed to hide whatever hijinks they happened to be up to at the time. When he made it to the corridor on the third floor with the gargoyle standing guard, he rolled his eyes as he muttered "Ice Mice," and watched as the gargoyle stepped aside, revealing the moving staircase. As he approached the office, Harry's eyes narrowed as he felt the presence of some sort of magic just in front of the door.

 _Must be how he knows you're there before you knock,_ he thought to himself. He nearly tripped, though, when, just as he was thinking of how amusing it would be to sneak past the ward, the feeling vanished, telling him that the ward had been dropped, while a distinct atmosphere of mischievousness fell over him. Feeling as though the universe was giving him its blessing, Harry smirked and slipped his Invisibility Cloak out from one of the pockets in his robes and threw it over himself. Casting a quiet silencing charm on his feet and the hinges of the door, Harry willed his staff to vanish before creeping through the door, which seemed to have mysteriously opened just a tad, enabling him to hear the voices therein, and slip inside without being noticed. He cringed when Fawkes trilled and looked directly at him, but the sounds of voices, while seeming to get closer, did not indicate that they had noticed anything out of the ordinary.

He crept over to the phoenix, and smiled when Fawkes hopped off his perch and inside the cloak to take up residence on Harry's shoulder, nuzzling his cheek and making Kyddris' tattoo heat up slightly on his chest out of jealousy while Harry went over to lean against the wall right next to the window as Dumbledore, Kingsley Shacklebolt, Alastor Moody, and Mundungus Fletcher.

"Between the defences and that damned house elf, we can't even get up the stairs," Moody grunted. "Might be time to call in a curse-breaker or two."

"I will look into it," Dumbledore said. "Perhaps young William would be willing to take a look at them for us. I fear that Harry may be headed down a rather dark path if he is not properly guided back towards those that truly care for him."

"In the meantime, what would you like us to do?" Kingsley asked.

"Keep trying to break through the defences," Dumbledore ordered. "If nothing else, try to take care of that poor elf. I'm sure that his suffering has driven him quite mad. I will try speaking with Harry and Sirius."

Fawkes slipped out from underneath the Cloak while Dumbledore watched the others leave through the fireplace near his desk, and Harry took the opportunity to sneak back out the door, removing the charms on himself and the door as he trotted down the revolving staircase passed where the alerting charm had been. Quickly calling Dobby, Harry had him relay a message to Sirius before removing his Invisibility Cloak and stashing it back in his robes. He summoned his staff and swallowed the rage that was now simmering just below the surface after hearing Dumbledore discussing his plans to 'guide' Harry. It was one thing to see evidence of the Headmaster's manipulations, but to actually see him conspiring with others to control Harry, it took everything Harry had to calm himself enough to start climbing the staircase once more.

*(OoO)*

Daphne sighed and glared at the clock once more from her seat in the library.

"Daphne, I swear if you don't stop sighing like that, I'm going to throw you into a broom cupboard and you can wait for Harry there," Tracey snapped as she looked up from Runes homework.

"Lay off her Trace," Susan admonished teasingly. "Don't you remember how desperate we were to see each other when we first got together?"

"Please, don't remind me of that," Susan's friend Hannah groaned. "I still haven't forgiven you for giving her the password into our dorms this year, Sue."

"Oh please, we've shared a dorm for four and a half years now," Susan quipped. "It's not like there was anything you haven't seen before."

"Just because we've been roommates since first year doesn't mean I want to see you and your girlfriend going at it _on my bed!"_

Daphne snickered as Tracey's face lit up a burning crimson while Neville and Blaise both adopted a dazed look until she smacked Blaise atop the head. "Oi! No fantasizing about our best friends!" Daphne hissed, causing Neville to squeak and fall out of his chair while Padma and Parvati started giggling.

Blaise looked affronted, but before he could say anything, there was a commotion near the entrance to the library that drew Daphne's attention towards the door where something made Madam Pince fall over followed by a pile of books on her desk. She narrowed her eyes as she watched the small ripple in the air sneak towards her, only to school her features when she realised that the Disillusioned person couldn't be taller than the average first year, and that – judging by the shape of the ripple in the air – there was some sort of appendage trailing behind them, knocking into shelves and seats.

"I'll see you all later," Daphne said, idly waving her wand as she threw her things back into her bag, and sending the books she had taken out back to their proper shelves, impressing even herself with how easily she had just performed the Banishing Charm. She shoved those thoughts away as she stood up and walked by the rippling air. "Come with me," she muttered, fighting down a fond smile as Bella tried her best to stealthily follow her out of the library.

She led Bella toward an empty classroom, and closed her eyes to mentally call out for Rosie. She grinned when her familiar materialized out of her own shadow, and reached down to pet her behind the ears while Rosie barked happily. While Daphne and Rosie couldn't communicate the same way Kyddris could with Harry, they did share a similar emotional bond, and, unlike regular hellhounds, who were unable to use the shadows of humans as a means of transportation, Rosie could conceal herself within Daphne's the same way a forty-foot dragon concealed himself as an intricate tattoo on Harry's chest.

Rosie shadow-traveled both Daphne and Bella to Harry's office where the Disillusion melted off of Bella, revealing her dressed in a light pink skirt and white blouse, her tail and wings fluttering anxiously through the holes that Tipsy had cut in her clothes for her.

"What are you doing here, Bella?" Daphne asked.

"There was an attack," Bella said sadly. "Sirius, Remus, and Lily all had to leave, and Mister Kanen suggested I come here to wait since Harry is probably there too."

Just then, a short piece of parchment appeared in her hand bearing Harry's handwriting, as if his office was trying to corroborate Bella's claims.

 _D.E.s attacking Azkaban. Gone to notify Amelia and try to bring help. Stay safe, Sunshine._

 _Harry_

Reaching back into her bond with Harry, Daphne had a hard time picking up anything, but could just barely feel the fringes of his emotions – meaning he definitely wasn't in the castle but was still within the range of their connection – and judging by the more primal emotions she felt, he was probably in a fight. Turning her attention back to Bella, she felt her heart clench.

Her silvery eyes shone with restrained emotion, and Daphne was reminded that, even though Bella now had a body of a ten year old girl (draconic features aside), she had still spent over thirty years trapped in the mind and body of one of the most vile people in modern history – second only to Riddle himself – and, despite Harry's best efforts to remove those experiences and feelings from her mind, Bella was still stuck with a purely academic knowledge of every atrocity Bellatrix had committed. That alone was enough to make any person age prematurely. The only silver lining – judging by the Disillusionment Charm she had found Bella under – was that she retained some of Lestrange's knowledge as well. Though, it was clear that she would still need a fair bit of practice to develop her skills to anywhere near where they were rumored to have been during the last war.

Her mind made up, she scribbled a quick note to Tracey and the others, and tentatively called out for Dobby smiling when he appeared with a small pop. She asked him to deliver the note covertly, and turned to pull Bella over to one of the couches in front of the fire. She wrapped her arms around Bella and pulled her close, a blanket appearing on top of them a moment later while Rosie happily sauntered into the fireplace to curl up on top of the coals.

"I'm scared," Bella whispered.

"I know," Daphne replied. "It always scares me when Harry leaves too, but remember that he's not alone. There are plenty of people there to look after and help him."

"It's not fair, that he has to fight."

Daphne shook her head and pulled Bella in closer. "No, it isn't. But he believes in what he's doing, so we have to believe in him too. In the meantime, why don't we do something fun while we wait?"

"Okay!"

*(OoO)*

Harry had barely been in Dumbledore's office two minutes when Severus joined them and he was kicked out. Thankfully, Severus had managed to discretely leave a note for Harry just outside the Headmaster's office, telling him that there was a siege taking place on Azkaban. He had quickly destroyed the note, then sprinted to his office where he left one for Daphne before using the Floo to head to one of the safe locations that linked the regular Floo network with the one Potter Manor was on. He then vanished his staff once more, threw his Invisibility Cloak back on, and apparated directly to the Ministry. He spared a quick thought to how poor the defences around the Ministry were that he could Apparate to almost anywhere inside of it without trouble. The only places that were properly warded were Fudge and Amelia's offices (and he could tell that Amelia was the one who set up both). He assumed that most Ministry workers apparated right to work, and in the complacency and indolence that came following Riddle's first fall from power they didn't think that anyone would try something like that – especially in a building filled with Aurors – but couldn't help but promise to himself to bring it up with Amelia, even if there wasn't much that she could do. It was just lucky that he had never shared his findings into how to apparate silently with anyone, or else he would be even more concerned.

Pushing these thoughts aside, Harry passed the fountain with the group of larger than life-sized statues standing in the center of the pool. He rolled his eyes and had to supress a growl at how the noble-looking wizard was the tallest amongst them, his wand pointed heroically into the air while his other arm wrapped possessively around the waist of the somewhat shorter witch while a centaur, goblin, and house-elf all stood around them, looking up at them adoringly. He could tell that the glittering jets of water shooting from the tips of the humans' wands, the centaur's arrow, the goblin's hat, and the house-elf's ears had been enchanted to look especially bright, and jewel-like, and he couldn't help but think that it, and the sparkling gold diminished the statues, which were – though he fervently disagreed with the implications the piece made – objectively impressive in their detail and craftsmanship.

Leaving the fountain behind, Harry cast another Silencing Charm and crept onto one of the elevators behind an overweight man wearing the brown trench coat typical of most Aurors. Once again, he found himself growing ever angrier with the state of the things within the Ministry, as the man looked somewhat similar to what Harry remembered his Uncle Vernon to resemble – walrus mustache and all – except this man looked like he might be just a few pounds lighter. He noted how, judging by the bulge in the back of his coat, the man seemed to be keeping his wand tucked away in his back pocket, and couldn't help himself as he covertly summoned it out from behind the coat, snarling internally at how easy it was. He gripped the man's wand tightly as he followed him out of the elevator into the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, and started creeping his way towards Amelia's office, stealing every wand he could find along the way that was either sitting around on an empty desk, or tucked out of the way, so that it wasn't easily accessible. By the time he had made it to Amelia's door and silently picked his way through her various wards, unlocking the door and slipping inside, he had at least twenty-five wands in his hands. He quietly closed the door behind him, and turned around to see Amelia already on her feet, her wand trained on the door.

"Whoever you are, show yourself before I blast you through this door into a room filled with fully-trained aurors."

"That would be more threatening if more than half of them weren't without their wands," Harry replied easily, slipping the cloak off his head and tossing the wands onto Amelia's desk.

"Harry!" Amelia exclaimed. "What are you doing here? And how did you get so many of my men's wands?"

"It wasn't that difficult," Harry replied with a shrug. "I only took them from people who left them lying around or tucked away where they weren't easily accessible to prove a point. And I'm here to warn you that there's an attack taking place at Azkaban right now."

"What?!" Amelia shouted disbelievingly.

"Severus just notified Dumbledore not ten minutes ago," Harry explained. "I'm headed there next to help, but I figured you should know first so you can send us some help."

"Alright," Amelia said. "I'll be there as soon as I can. I take it you can get there on your own?"

Harry smirked and nodded, before slipping out of her office and silently apparating away to Azkaban.

As soon as he arrived, Harry had to dive behind cover as spells from both sides flew towards him. Summoning his staff, Harry saw Minerva with several others trying desperately to fight off the onslaught of dementors while the rest of them struggled to hold off the increasing number of Death Eaters as they freed their comrades, disapparated them away, then returned to join the fight once the escaped convict had apparently been armed with a new wand. Mentally adding tracking down whoever was supplying the enemy with wands to the list of things to do, as there were already at least fifty people on the other side and that was growing by the minute, Harry raised his staff and focused on how he felt during that first date with Daphne, allowing the emotion to fill him as he summoned his Patronus while Kyddris and a fully-grown Zephyr joined it in handling the dementors.

With the dementors being handled, Harry ran over to Minerva just as she was forced to call of her Patronus Charm and direct her attention the growing number of Death Eaters trying to kill them.

"Harry! I never thought I would be so happy to see one of my students on a battlefield!"

"Sorry I took so long," Harry replied as he quickly conjured a wall of quartz and pulled her behind him, before casting a quick privacy ward. "Severus interrupted my meeting with Dumbledore and left a message for me when I was kicked out. I had to go and make sure that Amelia knew before coming here."

As if being spoken into existence, Amelia apparated beside them behind the wall, a shallow cut on her arm telling them that she had originally apparated into the line of fire. Moments later, Sirius, Remus, and a glamoured Lily appeared as well.

"Minerva, could you tell your group of vigilantes to watch where they're casting? That cutting curse nearly took my head off!"

"I'm afraid that you'll have to take that up with Albus," Minerva replied. "If it makes you feel better, we were instructed to try and avoid using anything lethal against them."

"It doesn't," Amelia deadpanned. "I managed to bring a handful of Aurors with me, but we're technically under the same orders as well. Though it seems that you lot already had the help of Shacklebolt and Tonks."

Reaching into his robes, Harry pulled out five diamonds bearing rune arrays hidden behind his signature insignia of a tree with the roots reaching up to connect with the branches. "These are all the protective arrays I've managed to complete so far. I've managed to make the protection spread about twenty-five feet from the array, so if we all stay just shy of that distance from each other, we should be able to protect the others," he explained as he summoned his sword and gave a diamond to Amelia, his mother, Sirius, Remus, and Minerva.

Amelia nodded as several more pops announced the arrival of her Aurors and sprinted out from behind their cover to meet them just as the first wave of green lights was shot in their direction. Harry watched as she struggled to control her men, and grit his teeth as he surveyed the battlefield while the others covered for him.

There were about twenty Aurors with Amelia, and Harry could already tell that they were split between panic, the inability to decide whom they should be trying to arrest, and desperately defending themselves against the onslaught of spells they had just landed in the middle of. Lastly, he noted that the only ones who looked even somewhat confident, and were trying to fight back, were in reality, using the chaos to subtly help the Death Eaters. Meanwhile, there were only about thirteen or fourteen Order members, most of whom seemed unable to use anything more powerful than a Stunner, while the more able ones were only just joining the fight as Kyddris, Zephyr, and Harry's Patronus chased away most of the dementors.

"We need Anti-Apparition and Anti-Portkey wards," Harry commanded. Lily and Remus both nodded and started waving their wands and muttering under their breaths. "The escapees are going to be the weakest, and the least likely to fight rationally, so take advantage of that. Separate them from the other Death Eaters, and it shouldn't take much to break through their defences. Try as much as you can to fight in pairs, and, with the exception of Unforgiveables, hit them with everything you've got. There are traitors among Amelia's group. Stun them without being noticed, and we can notify her about them in private."

Lily and Remus had just finished with the wards, and they all nodded to him before he vaulted over the crystalline wall and started to hurl spells left and right. He felt a rush of affection for his staff as it sent a warning to him of something being shot towards his back, and he dove to the side to avoid it. Glancing behind him, he was momentarily surprised to see that the spell had come from the direction of the members of the Order of the Phoenix, but shook it off as he focused on making his way towards the massive hole in the wall of the prison where maniacs and criminals were still streaming out of. Normally, his hand or fingers acted as his focus when Harry had his staff and actually needed to perform the equivalent of wand movements, but there was a definite rush that came from slashing his sword through the air and firing curse after curse from the blade. He stabbed his staff forwards and the twin snakes roared and flapped their wings as casted a powerful shield around himself.

Focusing his magic on maintaining his shield, Harry had only to worry about dodging the occasional reddish-brown light of the Cruciatus Curse as he rushed the opposition, his sword a blur. His staff seemed to have picked up on what he was doing, as he felt a pulse of magic travel from it, through his body, and down the length of his sword before returning to the staff. He lifted it up as he rolled out of the way of another Torture Curse, slicing a Death Eater's leg along the way with his sword, and conjured another wall for himself as examined his Transfigured staff.

The head of the staff looked mostly unchanged, with the Horntail's magical core glowing powerfully within the jaws of the lion as it maintained his shield charm and the black, feathered serpent with Zephyr's head and white, scaled one with Kyddris' still twisted around it. Their respective white dragon and black avian wings fully extended behind them, locked in place as opposed to their usually animated flapping, and looking wicked sharp. Rather than merge into the silvery wood of the shaft, both serpents spiraled around it, leaving holes big enough for Harry to fit his hand through and grab it. The shaft itself had shrunk. Where before, the entire staff was a little over six feet, reaching to just past Harry's nose, it was now about four-and-a-half feet in length. The silver disk at the bottom of the staff had raised up, with the shaft going through the middle of it while the serpents still wound around its circumference. Now, though, their tails converged about three inches past the bottom of the shaft, which Harry could see was hollow, for some reason.

Raising his eyebrow, Harry was forced out of his analysis as his shield was smashed with a spell powerful enough for him to actually feel the drain on his magic. He felt a pair of surges travel up his arms as he prepared himself to rejoin the fray, and was struck with a similar emotion as when he, Ron, and Hermione had resolved to go after the Philosopher's stone. It was the feeling of comradery, and he knew that both sword and staff were, somehow, telling him that they would stand beside him.

Taking a deep breath, Harry leapt back into the battle. It seemed that none of the combatants were ready for him forgoing spellcasting for fighting physically, and as such, Harry mowed through his enemies as his left hand brandished his staff like an axe, hacking and slashing through some, and deflecting incoming spells wherever he could, while he only needed a slight cut with his right to finish them off, the mixture of basilisk and acromantula venom immediately robbing his opponent of their ability to cast spells, and paralysing and killing them within a minute or two.

He grunted as he belatedly rolled out of the way from a powerful cutting curse, escaping the worst of the damage, but still receiving a nasty gash along the length of his back, Harry sprang to his feet and continued sprinting towards the massive hole that had been blasted in the wall of Azkaban while Kyddris and Zephyr joined him. Through the hole, Harry could see that the massive wave of escaped prisoners was due to the fact that there were no cells. He knew that the upper floors had individual cells for the extremely dangerous prisoners, and he could see stairs that led both up to the maximum security cells, and down below ground, but from the multi-story hole blasted in the wall, he could see that the rest of the prison was simply a labyrinth of rooms containing, at best, a bed and a bucket, and at worst, evidence of all sorts of inhumane activities that made Harry sick to his stomach. The only concession he found was the fact that none of the evil devices he could see looked like they had actually been used in centuries – the dementors were more than enough punishment for any poor soul unlucky enough to be sent here.

With Kyddris and Zephyr covering for him, Harry concentrated on drawing as much of his power as he could before uttering a single spell.

 _"Reparo Maxima."_

Broken pieces of wall started flying through the air, reassembling the wall at a lightning pace. Within moments, the remaining prisoners were trapped once more within the walls of Azkaban. With their seemingly unending supply of troops cut off, morale quickly fell amongst the Death Eaters, even more so when they all realised that they were unable to get away. The Order and Amelia's Aurors pushed their advantage, and the tide was starting to turn as Kyddris returned to his tattoo, supplying Harry with some of his own magic to supplement the not insignificant amount he had already used.

Sending a mental thanks to his familiar, Harry ran back through the fighting to join his mother. He vanished his sword once he was within range of the array his mum had with her, and his staff returned to its usual form as he helped her with the three Death Eaters she was holding off. Lily smiled to him momentarily before turning back to her opponent and firing a blue jet of light that wrapped around one of the Death Eaters, shield charm and all, and dragged him down into the ground where only his head was left exposed. Harry had just dealt with the other two, transfiguring their gloves into powerful magnets, causing their hands to slam together before dragging them towards each other where he stunned the both of them and disarmed them.

Things were going well until a thunderous crack rent the air, causing everyone to freeze as the wards Lily and Remus had set up were torn through and Tom Riddle himself apparated into the battlefield. The appearance of their Lord gave the Death Eaters their second wind, while reinforcements joined them and several Aurors and members of the Order disapparated away in fear.

"I suppose congratulations are in order," he announced. The silence and tension hanging in the air were stifling as he glided towards an Auror who had fallen to a nasty blasting curse. "I expected this to be a relatively mission for my followers to accomplish. You see, a dear friend of mine has gone missing, so I sent them to investigate, and perhaps liberate some of our brethren who were wrongly incarcerated during my… absence. Imagine my surprise when I receive reports of fighting, and wards preventing my friends from returning to me. However, the hour grows late, and I'm afraid that you all have witnessed too much. But, I am nothing if not a merciful Lord. I wish not to spill anymore magical blood. Lay down your wands. Pledge loyalty to me, and I will allow you to live."

Chaos erupted, and Harry quickly pulled his mother towards Minerva, who was fighting next to Amelia as the Aurors and Order joined forces in barely holding back the force of Lord Voldemort and his Death Eaters.

"Mum, hand me your rune and get within range of one of the others," Harry ordered. "I'll hold him off while you get everyone out of here. Take the members of the Order to twelve Grimmauld Place, and make sure you have a strong glamour and convincing alias."

"Harry, you can't –" Lily was cut off as Harry snatched the diamond from her hand and slipped it into his pocket before running towards Riddle. He knew that if Riddle saw him, he would bring everything to a stop so that everyone could watch him deal with Harry.

"Evening, Tom!" Harry yelled just as Riddle raised his wand. As predicted, the battle froze once more as they watched him and Riddle square off against one another.

Riddle's eyes narrowed at Harry's use of his birth name, but quickly schooled his features. "Harry," he hissed. "How fortuitous. I come here to clean up a mess, and I run into you."

"Funny, I was doing something similar. It's almost like our meetings have been _foretold_ or something."

Riddle's eyes widened and his nostrils flared in anger. "You've heard it!" He hissed, before Harry was subjugated to the most powerful mental attack he had ever felt. Rather than try to fight it, Harry carefully walked closer and closer as he forced forward the memory of himself grabbing the prophecy that Trelawney had made to Dumbledore and smashing it against the ground without even bothering to hear its contents.

Riddle recoiled from his mind in a fit of rage. " _You impudent CHILD!"_ He shrieked, slipping into Parseltongue in his anger. " _I will wipe you from the face of the Earth!"_


	34. Chapter 34

Harry's eyes stung from the blood trickling down his forehead. He didn't know how long he and Riddle had been dueling for, but it was painfully clear that there was still quite the difference between their respective powers. He could tell that Riddle was far stronger than he had been when they last fought, while Harry himself was already tired from the earlier fighting.

While outclassed in terms of power, Harry's imaginative spellcasting helped even the playing field. His creative use of weaker spells allowed him to counter Riddle's raw power with ingenuity. He had quickly learned that maintaining a shield under the force of Riddle's spells was far too draining if he had any plans of making it out of this encounter alive, and had to resort to dodging and conjuring physical shields. Luckily, he was a natural when it came to Transfiguration, so his physical defences didn't draw too much from his reserves.

" _Stand still and fight me, you coward!"_ Riddle shrieked in Parseltongue.

Harry rolled out of the way of what would have been his third Cruciatus Curse as the wall he crouched behind exploded, shredding his side with shards of stone. Firing back with his own Cutting Curse followed by a powerful shield-penetrating spell and a Reductor. Riddle shielded the Cutter, but Harry had purposefully made it extremely wide so that the remainder of the spell passed by Riddle, slicing through a line of Death Eaters while the Penetrator and Reductor plowed through Riddle's shield, shattering one of his ribs.

"That fight enough for you?!" Harry shouted back. He threw his senses behind himself quickly and found that the only ones still waiting were his mother, Remus, and Sirius. His entire body ached from being subjected to the most powerful Cruciatus he had ever felt _twice,_ and he knew that if he didn't act fast, he wouldn't make it out of this alive.

Riddle roared in anger and fired a flurry of spells, most of which Harry dodged or blocked with conjured blocks of wood and stone, ignoring the wounds from the resulting explosions as he literally returned fire. Tapping into his more draconic magic, Harry conjured a rope made of flames and slashed it through the air, forcing Riddle onto the defensive once he figured out that Harry's fire couldn't be re-Transfigured like normal conjured fire could. Harry concentrated on his hand movements as he lashed Riddle over and over with the whip, focusing on the ground around him and his followers, and screamed as a powerful curse slammed into his leg, making him feel as if the very bones inside had been set ablaze. He could feel the exhaustion creeping up on him, and using the last bit of energy he had, Harry finished his Transfiguration, and slammed his hand and the accompanying fire down on the now pale yellow flakes that covered the ground. The ensuing explosion sent Harry flying through the air, where he landed hard on the stone near where his godfather had remained behind.

He flickered in and out of consciousness as Sirius grabbed him and apparated to Grimmauld Place, dragging him through the fireplace where they re-emerged in his office. They were met by Poppy as soon as they arrived and she gently led him to a bed that had been provided for him by the office. She gave him a concussion potion and he downed it immediately. Moments after the last of the bitter liquid had passed his tongue, the fog in his mind started to lift. Unfortunately, this made him more aware of the various injuries littering his body causing him to close his eyes and stifled a groan.

"What did he do?" Poppy demanded from somewhere above him. "Fight the lot of them himself?"

"Worse," Sirius replied. "He fought Riddle."

"What?!" A third voice shrieked, and Harry felt a surge of panic that was strangely foreign fill his chest.

"He goaded Riddle into fighting him one-on-one so that the rest of us could get away. I stayed behind so that I could get him out of there once the opportunity presented itself."

"Why didn't you help?!" The familiar voice shouted.

"Would have startled the Death Eaters into action," Harry mumbled. "Needed everyone's attention on me so that they could evacuate. Only way to do that was to make them watch me and Riddle duel." The smell of vanilla and old parchment made him open his eyes and look into the most enchanting face he had ever seen. "I thought the angels only came after I was dead," he muttered, causing Daphne to roll her eyes and bury her face in his neck.

"See, if he's able to come up with crappy lines like that, then he's going to be perfectly fine," Sirius said.

Harry showed him a single finger in response, making Sirius bark out a laugh, and closed his eyes as he held Daphne close while Poppy performed several spells above him. Within moments, he was fast asleep.

*(OoO)*

 _HE'S BACK_

 _By: Barnabas Cuffe, Editor-in-Chief_

 _While it is with great regret that we publish this article, we, at the_ Daily Prophet _feel that it is our civic duty to report to our loyal readers that the Ministry of Magic has received irrefutable proof that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, the dark wizard who terrorized our country nearly fifteen years ago, has returned after almost a decade and a half of being believed dead._

 _Under the willing influence of veritaserum, Director of the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, Lady Amelia Bones, along with thirteen Aurors, described how, while supressing Death Eaters during an attempt to break their comrades out of Azkaban roughly a week ago, You-Know-Who appeared on the battlefield and revealed himself._

 _"The prison had just been secured and the tide of battle was beginning to turn, when he arrived," Madam Bones said in an open session with the Wizengamot. "The moment he did, everyone froze. He didn't even have to cast a spell for us to know that not one of us could stand a chance."_

 _According to Madam Bones and her Aurors, You-Know-Who was the one behind the assault, and had decided to intervene personally when he felt that things weren't going as planned. When asked how she and her Aurors had escaped, Madam Bones shocked everyone by boldly declaring that the sole reason so many of them survived was thanks to the efforts of one Harry Potter._

 _"While all of us were standing there waiting to die, he [Potter] marched right up and started taunting him. He goaded him into a fight and stalled him while the rest of us ran with our tail between our legs."_

 _According to Madam Bones, Potter had managed to successfully duel against the Dark Lord for several minutes, braving at least one bout of the Cruciatus Curse, and even, apparently, managing to land more than one hit himself. In light of this, discussions are already underway concerning awarding Potter with the Order of Merlin for his outstanding bravery and selflessness while criticisms against the Ministry, and the Minister in particular have been mounting by the day._

 _"My daughters say that boy is the only reason she's going to pass her Defence OWLs this year," says Aditya Patil, Lord of the Noble House of Patil, whose daughters are both in fifth year at Hogwarts, where Professor Potter has apparently been providing supplementary Defence courses to all years in order to balance out the Ministry approved curriculum being taught by Senior Undersecretary Dolores Umbridge, which is apparently extremely theoretical, with little focus on the practical applications of Defence Against the Dark Arts. On top of providing these courses during his own free time, Professor Potter assists in a number of classes ranging from first to fifth year, and, according to our sources, has already taken his NEWTs, receiving top marks in several subjects and is now pursuing multiple Masteries under various qualified professors at Hogwarts._

 _According to Madam Bones, Potter had even helped with handling the initial breakout, and though she seemed unwilling, eventually was forced to admit that Potter was even the one who had tipped her off. It is unclear what Potter was doing there in the first place, but it is possible that, due to the strong bond the Houses Potter and Bones used to share, he felt inclined to offer his aid. Madam Bones refused to answer how Potter had gotten this information, stating that it was not only irrelevant, but, considering the risk of heightened attacks in the foreseeable future, and the almost fateful way Potter and You-Know-Who seem to run into each other, revealing any advantage the Boy-Who-Lived may have could prove extremely dangerous._

 _All attempts to reach the young professor have been unsuccessful, no doubt due to him requiring time to recuperate from facing…_

Daphne sighed as she threw down the paper and returned to her breakfast. While she was happy that Harry was finally being vindicated, she couldn't help but worry about how things would be escalating now that Riddle had returned to the limelight. More close to home, she couldn't help but sigh as she saw the beginnings of hero-worship burgeoning in the eyes of many of the students reading the _Prophet_ , a fair number of whom had still thought Harry to be an attention-seeking liar just the day before.

"How is he?" Tracey asked as she and Susan sat down across from her while Blaise seated himself to her right.

"Remarkably, he's already up and about," Daphne grumbled, not at all happy at her boyfriend's inability to sit still. "He looks like he's been through a meat grinder though."

"I can't believe he fought him again," Susan muttered somberly.

"I can," Blaise replied. "Risking his neck to help a bunch of people he barely knows? That's Harry to a tee."

Daphne chuckled and stood up gathering her things. They had Transfiguration first, and she was already anxious to see Harry again, despite having seen him less than thirty minutes earlier. She arrived at the same time as everyone else, and so she didn't have any time to speak to Harry, but he smiled comfortingly to her when he felt that the sight of him was already making her feel distressed. He wasn't dressed in his nice suit and elegant robes, instead resigning himself to wearing his light button up shirt loosely, with several of the buttons undone. He had also forgone his usual braid, as he couldn't reach up to tie his hair, leaving the long, obsidian locks to fall loosely down his back and over his shoulders. There were cuts and scrapes all over the side of his face, and she could just see the bandages beneath his collar that wrapped around almost the entirety of his torso and one of his arms while he leaned heavily against staff.

As soon as the other students saw him, they started bombarding him with questions, which McGonagall silenced with a bang from the end of her wand.

"While I'm sure that news of what Professor Potter went through last week has already made its way throughout the school, I will not allow you to so blatantly disrespect a professor in my class by assaulting him with questions. This is OWL level Transfiguration, and you will either work on that, or I will send you away with a three foot essay on NEWT level material due by next week. Do I make myself clear?"

Disappointed mumbling spread through the room as Harry and McGonagall moved on to that day's lecture with Harry having to sit down halfway through as his leg started irritating him. They were starting work on the Vanishing Spell, and when it came time to start attempting it themselves, McGonagall was kind enough to place Harry's snail on his desk in front of him and command the students to stand up and gather round so that he wouldn't have to stand up just to hobble to the front of the class and back. Daphne noticed how the other students seemed to be paying more attention to Harry than the snail that he had easily vanished using a conjured stick as his focus to demonstrate the proper wand movements. Afterwards, they set about their individual work, but rather than stand up and walk around the class as he usually did, Harry waved his hand with a smirk and conjured wooden chairs in front of each desk, with thick blocks of some sort of metal on top of them. He then vanished from his seat, and reappeared on the seat in front of Daphne's desk, grinning at the astounded look on everyone's faces, including Professor McGonagall.

"Don't try that yourselves," he declared. "I don't want to explain to Madam Pomfrey why she has a sudden influx of patients missing all sorts of important bits."

"But, how…" Daphne trailed off. It was a well-known fact that Apparition was impossible within Hogwarts. She took another look around the room at the other chairs that Harry had conjured, and was fairly sure she had figured it out when McGonagall proved her theory.

"A rather impressive use of the Switching Spell, Professor Potter," she said proudly. "It seems that taking you on as my Apprentice was a good decision after all. We'll have to discuss what else you've discovered later as well."

"Certainly, Professor," Harry replied with a modest smile and a nod. "Until then, though, I'd like to see how well Patil casts the Vanishing Spell." With that, the class returned to their assignments, with Harry offering helpful hints here and there.

"I can tell you're holding something back," Daphne growled when Harry had managed to circulate around the class and loop back to her table without her being able to vanish the bloody snail.

"I am," Harry conceded. "But you wouldn't be learning if I just told you everything you needed to know right off the bat."

"What do bats have to do with anything?" Neville asked exasperatedly.

"Nothing mate," Harry replied. "Just a Muggle saying. What I mean to say is you lot won't learn anything unless I let you figure certain things out for yourself."

"With all due respect, _Professor_ , you are a particular kind of bastard," Tracey snarled from the table behind Daphne.

Harry chuckled and shook his head. "Don't worry, Davis, no offence taken. That will be five points from Slytherin for your language though."

"Fair enough," Tracey muttered before turning back to her snail.

By the end of the lesson, only Granger seemed to be able to vanish her snail completely, and while McGonagall and Harry offered her congratulations, Harry pointed out that she had failed to vanish the slimy substance covering the snails body, resulting in her not being awarded any points and her being torn between guiltily staring at Harry's injuries as she had all class, and scowling at him for his perceived slight against her.

Daphne didn't see Harry again until lunch, where they both kipped down to the kitchens to eat with the elves.

"What do you think is going to happen to Umbridge?" Daphne asked as she watched Harry readjust himself in his seat and down one of the many potions Madam Pomfrey was forcing him to take in order to aid with the healing process.

"Dunno," Harry replied once he had finished the potion and thanked the elf who had taken it away from their table. "Reckon she'll probably get sacked, since people are gonna want their kids to be properly educated in Defence."

"Would that mean that you would be taking her place?"

"Not a chance," Harry said firmly. "I'm too committed to my Masteries, and would rather not be stuck only teaching one thing. I like the way things are, though if the new professor was halfway decent, I might be inclined to ease up on my own classes. Merlin knows I could use the free time."

"I can think of a few things you could do with a bit more free time," Daphne murmured suggestively.

Rather than get flustered, Harry merely smirked, causing Daphne to fight down a shiver as his eyes glowed. "Careful, someone might get it in their head that you actually want to spend more time with a Professor, Greengrass."

"Just one," Daphne shot back. "Though you can't tell anyone. It'd be rather scandalous if word got out that I've been snogging a member of the staff behind closed doors."

"Miss Greengrass, a Slytherin such as yourself should know that my silence comes at a price."

"I think we can work something out," Daphne purred.

Harry opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by the bell announcing the end of lunch. He sighed in disappointment and pushed himself onto his feet with his staff.

"What do you have next?" Daphne asked as she wrapped his arm around her shoulders in order to take some more weight off his bad leg.

"Arithmancy," Harry replied before leaning down and kissing her softly. "I'll see you later."

That afternoon, after finishing with her classes and her shift helping out in the Hospital Wing, Daphne found herself waiting for Harry to finish his training (though she wondered what he could possibly accomplish with his body in the state it was) when Hedwig flew through a nearby window and down the hall to land on her shoulder.

"Hey there, Hedwig, do you have a letter for Harry?" She asked, taking note of the parchment tied to her foot. Hedwig shook her head and held her leg out to Daphne, making her raise an eyebrow, but remove the letter regardless. She recognised the seal on the envelope as one from the House of Black, and wondered what Sirius would be sending a letter to her for.

 _Daphne,_

 _Harry's going to be summoned to Grimmauld Place to be interrogated by Dumbledore and some other members of the Order tonight, and I wanted to gather as many of his allies as I can. Harry's probably still exhausted, and without Minerva, Severus, Lily, or Poppy there to support him, he, Remus, and I are going to be under a lot of fire. Your mother, Neville's gran, and Tracey's parents all gave permission for the three of you to attend, so long one of you let them see the memory of what happened. Harry probably won't invite you himself because he doesn't want to burden you lot with his problems, but I figure you're the best person to convince him not to be an idiot and to let us help. Plus between the three of you, Harry's goblin friends, and Firenze, we should be able to keep them off balance as well as not feel outnumbered._

 _Give Harry my love and tell him that we're all extremely proud of him._

 _I'll see you tonight._

 _The git's dog-father,_

 _Sirius_

Daphne rolled her eyes at how Sirius sounded just as laidback in writing as he did in person. She had no idea how Lady Bones dealt with him, but it made her smile to think that he was going to these lengths to protect Harry, who wasn't always the best at dealing with these sort of politically charged situations at the best of times. Excluding Nightfire's more… _blunt_ methods of dealing with people, Harry's only real methods of dealing with those he wasn't particularly close to were either playing the role of the helpful and supportive teacher and colleague, or the stoic warrior, and while they helped him with dealing with the likes of Dumbledore and Umbridge on the occasion, neither persona would be altogether useful in the face of the all-out inquisition he was going to be facing from all sides except his own now that he had not only been proven right that Riddle had indeed returned, but had hints of his true powers exposed as well.

Casting a quick _Tempus,_ Daphne figured Harry would be done with his private time by now, and strolled up to his door, where she knocked loudly before muttering her personalized password and opening the door. She entered Harry's office to find him reclining on a couch with a dozing Bella on his chest. Her heart was nearly filled to bursting as she watched him stroke Bella's dark hair while smiling fondly down at her. Bringing their bond to the forefront of her mind, she nearly burst into tears as a wave of emotion crashed into her. The sheer amount of unrestrained adoration and devotion that Harry felt for the girl snoozing on top of him was overwhelming, and Daphne made a point right there and then to add what she was seeing and feeling to the section of her mind that she had set aside for casting Patronus charms.

Walking over to the couch where they were laying – which had now changed into a bed underneath them – Daphne climbed in and curled up next to Harry while placing the memory of what was happening alongside the memory of first holding her wand; getting on the Hogwarts Express for the first time; laying with Harry on the forest floor before the Quidditch World Cup; being asked to accompany Harry to the Yule Ball as his date; meeting Rosie; that Christmas and accompanying Harry to the Yule Ball as his date; that first quick peck Harry had given her before the third task; and finally the Christmas that had just passed, and their picnic at the edge of an active volcano.

"You're going to be summoned to Grimmauld Place tonight," she whispered after a few more minutes of blissful silence where she reached up and started stroking Bella's back between her wings.

"How do you know about that?" Harry asked just as quietly.

"Your dog-father sent me a letter saying that he wants me, Trace, and Nev to be there, and that our respective guardians will be too as well, and I quote, 'your goblin friends', whom I can only assume are Griphook and Ragnok."

"I really wish he would address them properly, when they aren't in the room as well," Harry grumbled.

"Give him time," Daphne said softly. "He, like most of the Wizarding World, was raised to believe that goblins should only be shown respect until you're out of danger of them stabbing you in the back."

"You weren't," Harry argued.

"No, but that's only because my mother was given free rein when it came to raising Tori and I, and instilled in us an understanding that all life should be respected."

"Guess that explains why you didn't immediately run screaming when I told you about having Lycanthropy in third year," Harry noted.

"I won't say the temptation wasn't there," Daphne admitted. "While I intellectually believed what our mother had taught us about vampires, werewolves, and the like being people too, at the moment you told me, I still heard a lot of Cyrus' fear-mongering in the back of my head."

"But you chose not to act on it, and that's the important bit," Harry replied before heaving a great sigh. "There's no way I'm going to convince you, Tracey, and Neville to stay behind, is there?"

Daphne smiled innocently and pecked him on the lips. "Not a chance."

"Fine," Harry said, releasing another sigh of defeat before gently nudging Bella. "Hey, Sleeping Beauty, it's time for you to go back to Potter Manor now."

Bella scrunched her nose and buried her face in Harry's chest with a groan. "Don' wanna," she mumbled.

"Come on, Bella," Harry said once more. "You need to be out of here before my class arrives."

"Five more minutes," Bella grunted. Harry smiled and opened his mouth to retort but was stunned speechless at the next words out of her mouth. "Please, Papa?"

Harry stiffened only momentarily, before wrapping his arms tightly around Bella and holding her close while tears threatened to stream down his face. Daphne smiled as she felt a new, even more powerful tidal wave of what she knew to be love sweep through their bond. "Okay, Princess," Harry croaked. "Five more minutes."

Harry still hadn't shared too much about his life other than his own perspective on what were, by now, well-known or established facts along with the occasional nugget about his more private life, but he _had_ mentioned the few nights during their first year that he had spent staring into the Mirror of Erised and what he had seen within. Daphne knew that the one thing he wanted above all was a family to call his own, and while he had accepted that he would never have the kind of parental bond with anyone that he had so desperately wished for as a child, she did know that his desires hadn't disappeared, but simply changed. Now, there was nothing Harry looked forward to more than the day where he wasn't fighting in some war and could come home to people who would know him as a husband and father.

Hearing Bella call him Papa, even if it was by accident, had penetrated through Harry's already weakened mental and emotional barriers, and touched that part of the real him that only made brief appearances in the safety of the dark and the comfort of Daphne's arms. Five minutes later, Harry still hadn't managed to compose himself, so Daphne took over and finally dragged Bella out of his arms before having Tipsy take her back to Potter Manor. Once they were gone, she turned to Harry, whose shoulders had started shaking silently. Wrapping her arms around him, she shifted their positions on the bed and buried his face in the crook of her neck, ignoring the feeling of his nearly scalding-hot tears as he cried quietly.

Holding him tightly, Daphne decided that the fact that Harry was conditioned to cry and suffer in silence, no matter how great his pain, was probably one of the vilest things that his relatives had done to him during the time he spent trapped with them.

She didn't say anything as they laid there as there was nothing to be said. Harry just needed to ride out the emotions that were overwhelming him at the moment. Instead, she delved back into her mind to sort through her memories to find the appropriate one to send him her own ripples of soothing emotion through their bond while running her hand through his long hair. It was rare that he had it out of its plait, and she relished in the feeling of being able to run her fingers through it from root to tip for once, as opposed to when it was tied back and the bangs framing his face were the bits of hair not immaculately braided.

Eventually, Harry calmed down, and a trickle of unspoken gratitude flowed through their bond. Normally, she would force Harry to articulate what he was feeling, but in cases such as this, she figured she could let it slide to spare him anymore emotional exhaustion. Using his staff, he levered himself onto his feet and hobbled over to a nearby sink that had appeared in order to wash his face. A notification charm beeped through the air just as he finished recomposing himself, and Harry deactivated it, placing a deep kiss on Daphne's lips before heading over to the door to admit his first-through-third years while she slipped out to go find Neville and Tracey.

*(OoO)*

Harry's class passed smoother than any he had taught so far as his students worked harder than ever to improve their standing in order to win the opportunity to learn something of their choosing from him. As he watched the first, second, and third years work on Knockback Jinxes, Disarming Charms, and Stunning Spells respectively, he couldn't fight off the smile spreading across his face as he thought once again about what Bella had, most likely, called him by accident. It filled him with warmth, and he could feel his magic surging happily as he watched from his seat at the head of his class. Taking advantage of how powerful his magic was acting, Harry remained seated throughout the entirety of his class, channeling it to his leg and accelerating the healing process while he called out encouragements to the surprisingly accommodating students.

By the time he was telling them goodbye as they made their way to dinner, Harry's leg felt much better, and he could already gingerly put a significant amount more weight on it than he could when the class started. As the last of his students left, Neville, Daphne, and Tracey all joined him and he secured his office before taking the Floo to 0Grimmauld Place, where they were met by Sirius, Remus, Ragnok, Griphook, and Firenze.

"Lily wanted me to tell you that she's sorry she can't come with us tonight, Harry," Sirius said sadly as they all grabbed seats around the kitchen table with Harry transfiguring two of them to be high enough for Griphook and Ragnok, and another into a large cushion on the ground which Firenze lowered himself onto with a grateful nod.

"Don't worry about it," Harry replied as he looked around the kitchen which had apparently been magically expanded to accommodate a crowd of dozens. "I don't want Dumbledore finding out about her any more than anyone else does. Plus, someone needed to stay back and keep Bella company."

"We expanded the room to fit everyone as well as Kyddris," Remus said as they served themselves.

"Considering the fact that he and Zephyr were more than a little conspicuous as they tore through the dementors, we figured we should be prepared in case you're forced to reveal him," Sirius added.

"If we know that people are gonna be asking about him," Tracey began as she and Daphne adopted similar mischievous smirks.

"Then why don't we let him out now?" Daphne finished.

Harry picked up what they were putting down, and smirked as well, raising his arm and calling Kyddris out of his tattoo form, where the adolescent dragon curled up against the wall behind him while Harry used both his dragon magic and Parseltongue to cast an incredibly powerful Notice-Me-Not. He laughed when Kyddris chuckled at the idea, and the strange hissing laugh sent chills down everyone else's spines. Zephyr promptly joined them as well, taking his perch on Harry's shoulder while Rosie decided to remain within Daphne's shadow for the time being.

Dinner was a light-hearted affair, with all discussions of the war and politics being cast aside for reports on schooling and work. until the wards alerted Sirius that the members of the Order of the Phoenix that weren't staying in Grimmauld Place had arrived. He and Remus both stood up and removed the additional wards that they had put around the room earlier in the afternoon to provide them with the needed privacy to expand the kitchen and have dinner with Harry and the others in peace.

Within minutes, the room was filled as Moody, Shacklebolt, Tonks, a tiny man wearing a purple top hat that Harry was fairly sure went by Diggle, a tall, willowy woman with dark brown hair that Harry had only briefly seen during the battle at Azkaban, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and two other redheaded men that Harry figured were probably the eldest Weasley sons: Bill and Charlie had all filed through the door and chaos filled the air as people were constantly shouting over each other once they discovered that Harry hadn't come alone. Harry didn't say a word, and simply kept his eyes on the fireplace as it flashed green and Dumbledore stepped through, causing silence to fall over the room as everyone returned to their seats.

Dumbledore looked over the various people sitting around Harry, and sighed tiredly, making Harry smirk internally behind his Occlumency shields.

"While I usually quite enjoy unexpected company, I'm afraid that I'm going to have to ask everyone that isn't a member of the Order to leave, as this is a closed meeting."

Harry knew that Dumbledore could easily force his friends out if he were so inclined, and was seized my momentary worry, followed by anger, until Daphne pulled him out of his seat and towards the fireplace.

"Well, that was a rather uneventful meeting, wasn't it?" She asked as she handed Harry the pot of Floo powder.

Harry finally caught on, and smirked as he reached into the pot just as Mrs. Weasley cried out, "Where do you think you're going, young man?"

"Back to Hogwarts," Harry replied easily. "The Headmaster just said that those who weren't members of your little group had to leave. As such…" he trailed off with a pleasant smile on his face while Shacklebolt scowled furiously.

"You're the one this meeting is about," he spat.

"I'm sure you've had plenty of meetings about me without my being here before," Harry said making sure to keep the anger and bitterness out of his voice. "I don't see why this one has to be so different."

"Harry, my boy, please sit back down," Dumbledore said. "We simply want to ask you some questions about what happened last week."

"He stays, we stay," Neville declared bravely.

"Absolutely not!" Mrs. Weasley shouted. "Children are not allowed!"

"That's not your decision to make," Tracey retorted coolly. "If this little kangaroo court of yours is to happen, Harry deserves to have his friends by his side."

"They all also have permission from their various guardians," Sirius added.

Harry was filled with pride and affection as he watched his friends stand up to Albus Dumbledore and a room full of adults, and crossed his arms. "Neville's right. You want to ask me about last week, then my friends stay as well."

"What about them?" The willowy woman asked, pointing her chin towards the two goblins sitting quietly.

"I just said that my friends are staying," Harry hissed, his patience waning. " _They_ are two of my closest. The same goes for Firenze."

Harry felt his anger quickly rise as his words did little to avert the distasteful stares that his non-human friends were receiving. Daphne's firm grip on his hand and Zephyr's soft nuzzling against his cheek were the only things anchoring him to his seat and keeping him from exploding. These were supposed to be the _good guys?_ They were the ones who railed against the pureblood rhetoric that Riddle's followers espoused, but as he watched them stare at Griphook, Ragnok and Firenze with critical eyes, he started wondering if there really was that much of a difference between the two sides. Even Dumbledore was looking down his nose at them with a critical eye. What he couldn't understand was how they could treat Remus – a werewolf – with respect, but not the others.

"Them being chummy with you isn't a reason to trust them," Moody grunted.

Harry was moments away from losing control of himself. His Occlumency shields were desperately holding back his anger while his inner beast roared for those who would threaten his friends to be destroyed. Luckily, Ragnok was much more used to this kind of behaviour, and came to his rescue.

"Warrior Griphook and Centaur Firenze both accepted Lord Potter's to sit as proxies for the Houses Slytherin and Gryffindor respectively. As such, they are bound by duty and honour to stand by his side in the same way that the proxy for House Potter does. Their loyalty to him comes second only to their loyalty to their own kind, and that was by request of the Lord Potter himself."

"And what about you?" The taller of the two Weasley sons asked.

"This may not be Gringotts, but you'd do well to show proper respect for your superiors," Ragnok said lowly. "Otherwise, I might decide that your department is suddenly overstaffed and needs down-sizing. And trust me, William Weasley, Curse-Breaker, serial number: 428956-J, it would not be a long meeting. We Branch Managers carry more authority than you think."

Bill paled and snapped his mouth shut while Harry smirked. Gringotts was one of the only places where the human and goblin worlds intersected, and, despite what Professor Binns taught, they had a rich, ancient culture. To work at a physical Gringotts location was considered one of the most prestigious positions a goblin could attain, and only those who had proven themselves as both warriors and scholars were given that opportunity. It was part of why the goblins looked down on humans so much, as they considered the elite few who worked in the bank as nothing more than glorified accountants. The Branch Managers, however, were even higher than that, and were effectively the governing body within the Goblin Nation, with each Manager ruling absolutely over their jurisdiction so long as they didn't interfere with the other branches.

Dumbledore seemed to recognize the significance of Ragnok's position as well as he raised his hand to cut off any other complaints.

"I see we have no other choice but to allow you six to stay. In that case, I suggest we move on to the true purpose of our meeting: the mass breakout at Azkaban, Voldemort's emergence from the shadows during the subsequent battle, and your involvement in that battle, Harry."

Harry took a deep breath and looked at a spot just below the center of Dumbledore's forehead. "What do you want to know?"

"How about what you were doing there in the first place?" Mrs. Weasley demanded. "Children have no place being around those kinds of situations."

"Lord Potter isn't a child," Ragnok retorted. "He has emancipated himself and taken his place as the head of his family."

"A legal technicality is not what separates a child from an adult," Shacklebolt said. "He's still fifteen."

"And he's already studying for multiple Masteries and teaching at Hogwarts," Daphne countered.

"We aren't trying to discredit Harry's achievements, Miss Greengrass," Dumbledore said calmly. "Merely that there are certain burdens that require more… experience in order to properly shoulder."

"I've _experienced_ plenty already," Harry said angrily. "I won't be thrown into the middle of this conflict only to be treated like a child when I try to do my part."

"You _are_ a child," Moody grunted.

"To call Harry a child is to call a baby phoenix a newly hatched pidgeon," Firenze stated calmly.

"Harry, you have to understand," Tonks said softly. "We just don't want to see you get hurt."

She immediately regretted her words as even the goblins winced along with Sirius, Remus, and Harry's other friends while Harry's gaze hardened and he pinned her with a look.

"There's a mark across my face that would suggest otherwise," he growled, the visible scar from his fight with a dragon last year stretching as he spoke.

"It's not our fault you decided to fight and _murder_ a fully grown dragon last year," the other Weasley boy, whom Harry assumed to be Charlie, spat.

If the anger Harry had been directing at Tonks was scaring, the cold look he gave Charlie was nearly heart-stopping. In the back of his mind, he distantly felt Daphne clutch his hand while Sirius walked over to place a restraining hand on his shoulder, but neither could stop him as he stood up and walked mechanically around the table to stare down at Charlie.

"You work on a dragon reserve, right?"

"Yeah, I do," Charlie replied. "We were the ones who provided the dragons for the first task, and we lost a ton of funding because of what you did."

In a flash, Harry had grabbed Charlie and easily lifted him with one hand by the collar of his shirt as the primal, draconic magic surged through his body with the power of a volcano. Almost instantly, the sound of chairs scraping on the ground as people rushed to their feet, blades being pulled from sheaths as the goblins drew their weapons, and the groan of a sting being pulled taut as Firenze knocked an arrow filled the air as everyone in the room was caught in a standoff with the members of the Orders alternating between pointing their wands at Harry, who was still holding Charlie in the air – despite Charlie also having drawn his wand and jabbing it into Harry's throat – and Harry's friends who had all drawn their own weapons to defend him.

"Harry, I'm going to have to ask you to put Charles down," Dumbledore said sternly, his wand pointed at Harry's head. Harry didn't reply and Dumbledore had barely moved his arm a fraction of an inch when a deep, rumbling growl filled the air and shook the ground.

"There's someone who'd like to have a few words with you," Harry growled as he tossed Charlie towards the table, his flaring magic fueling him and making it effortless. From behind where Harry had been sitting a clawed foot shot forward and slammed Charlie down onto the table, breaking it like a matchstick and pinning him between two claws while the Notice-Me-Not fell and they all became aware of the massive, silver dragon staring down at Charlie with baleful red eyes.

"Nobody move!" Charlie yelled, though Harry was pretty sure that order was redundant as even Dumbledore was staring slack-jawed at Kyddris.

"Sirius, _why is there a dragon in your kitchen?!"_ Tonks hissed.

Sirius, who had returned to his seat once a nod from Harry told him that he wouldn't have to hide any bodies that night, smirked at his cousin. "That's Kyddris," he said nonchalantly. "Goes wherever Harry does and is usually a big softie."

"What do you mean he goes where Harry goes?" Shacklebolt demanded.

"I'm fairly sure I would have noticed a dragon inside my school," Dumbledore added, having recomposed himself.

"Didn't notice first year either," Neville muttered, making Tracey and Daphne giggle.

"What Sirius means is that Kyddris is my familiar," Harry said angrily, crouching next to where Charlie was still pinned to the floor. "We share a soul, and as such he's almost always with me in one way or another, even if you don't see him."

"That's impossible," Dumbledore said.

"You said the same thing about Rosie being my familiar, Headmaster," Daphne said innocently as Rosie emerged from her shadow and trotted over to lick Harry's face before taking a seat next to her.

"If that's the case, then tell your dragon to let go of my son!" Mr. Weasley demanded.

"Sorry, Mr. Weasley, but as I said, Kyddris would like to have a few words with him first," Harry said as Kyddris leaned down, smoke billowing out of his nostrils as he growled, slowly opening his mouth to reveal his long, dagger-like teeth and the glow of his internal fire, and started hissing angrily. "He says that he won't kill or maim Charlie in any way, though."

More angry hissing followed and Charlie looked fearfully between Kyddris and Harry. "What did he say?" He asked hesitantly.

"He wants to know how someone whose life is supposedly devoted to the care of dragons could willingly separate a nesting mother from her clutch."

"What are you talking about?" Charlie retorted. "With the exception of the one's that were crushed, all the mothers were returned to their eggs. It's because _you_ killed the Horntail that her clutch died. They're known for having a high infant-mortality rate, and you sentenced an entire –"

He was cut off as Kyddris pressed down on him slightly while roaring angrily, the noise of it within the confined kitchen shaking the ground and making dishes fall to the ground and shatter.

" _You_ doomed those hatchlings from the very beginning!" Harry hissed angrily. "Her clutch died as soon as they were taken away from her! She was heartbroken! She couldn't handle the idea of her babies being killed before they even got to experience their first flight! IT DROVE HER INSANE! SHE BEGGED FOR DEATH SO THAT THEY COULD BE TOGETHER AGAIN!"

Charlie paled at this while Harry's magic started to pulse once more. Daphne stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, slowly pulling him back from the painful memory of the Horntail's insane pleas for death that still haunted his dreams on occasion. Eventually, Harry managed to calm himself and Kyddris shoved Charlie back across the room while Harry walked over to press his forehead against his partner's snout. When they finally parted, Harry tiredly repaired the table with a wave of his hand and sat back down, leaning his head on Daphne's shoulder as she took her seat next to him.

"Well, I guess this explains the reports of there being a dragon at the battle," Dumbledore surmised, seemingly unaffected by what had just transpired. "What I do wish to know, is how you knew about the battle in the first place."

"I told him," Sirius said, placing a hand on Harry's free shoulder and the other on Kyddris' snout, looking up into the dragon's shining red eyes.

"And how did you know?" Moody asked suspiciously.

"One of _my_ contacts tipped me off," Sirius replied smoothly. "Harry's an accomplished wizard, so I asked him for his help."

"It's a good thing he did too," Remus added staring the three aurors in the eye.

"Was it?" Kingsley asked with an accusatory tone.

"Yes. Thanks to his foresight, Amelia Bones and her Aurors were there to witness Voldemort's appearance on the battlefield."

"Not to mention the fact that he was the one who repaired the prison walls, took care of the dementors, _and_ took care of more Death Eaters than anyone else," Sirius added while Harry simply sat with his eyes closed against Daphne. Never before had he been so grateful to have so many people standing there, supporting him.

"I think, perhaps, Kingsley is alluding to the method with which Harry – _took care_ – of the Death Eaters," Dumbledore said.

"There's nothing to discuss," Harry said. "I did what I had to, and I'll do it again."

"Harry!" Mrs. Weasley gasped. "You _killed people_! How can you just brush that kind of thing off?"

"They're trying to kill me and those closest to me," Harry replied coldly. "I take exception to that. Now, I'm still very tired from saving all your lives, and have classes to prepare for tomorrow." He stood up, and raised his arm to pat Kyddris on the snout and he disappeared in a flash of light to return to his form as a tattoo on Harry's chest before bidding everyone a goodnight and leaving with Daphne, Tracey, and Neville through the fireplace. They arrived in his office, and Harry bid both Neville and Tracey a good night as his office created doors straight to their respective dorms. He and Daphne then walked into his bedroom, where he shucked off his clothes and was asleep before his head even hit the pillow.


	35. Chapter 35

_Harry opened his eyes and found himself in the clearing that he used to go to in the forest to transform. The moon shone brightly, caressing the Earth with a silvery ethereal glow while a warm breeze kissed his naked skin, contradicting the barren trees and snow-covered ground that suggested it was the middle of winter. Looking around, he once again saw the hooded figure between the trees and smiled as it glided towards him, leaving no footprints in its wake. He watched, transfixed, as the figure's long robes billowed in the wind and what looked like stars burst into existence all over the pitch black fabric before winking out of existence – some with little to no fanfare, and others with a burst of light and colour the likes of which Harry had never seen before._

 _"Hello again," Harry said as the figure took a seat next to him._

 _"I don't think I will ever become accustomed to being greeted with such warmth," the figure said and Harry frowned as something seemed slightly off._

 _"Your voice sounds different," he said once he'd figured out what was so different. The last time he had seen it, the figure spoke in what sounded like a chorus of voices, but, even so, there was always a distinctly feminine quality to it. Now, though, the most recognisable voice among the cacophony was most definitely male._

 _"So it does," the figure replied indifferently._

 _"Something on your mind?" Harry asked, noting how his friend was even less talkative than the last time._

 _"Nothing more than simple contemplation," the figure reassured him. "Since we last spoke, I was able to return something that I had been forced to take. I'm simply curious as to how things will turn out."_

 _"Well, that cleared things right up," Harry said facetiously._

 _The figure chuckled and Harry's chest warmed at the deep timbre of its voice. "Perhaps you would like to share something as well."_

 _Without further prompting, Harry began recounting the disastrous meeting in Grimmauld Place and the events of the following month. He told the figure about how he had assigned his older students their project to invent something and how Dumbledore and the Ministry had been trying over and over to stop them and have him punished. It was only thanks to the efforts of his more politically savvy friends and the other professors that he had been able to hold them off, but at the cost of the wave of popular media coverage he was receiving taking a hit. Luckily, the news had elected to simply ignore him, rather than attempt another smear campaign. He did manage to finally get Umbridge out of the school, though. With the Riddle's return to the land of the living finally being accepted as fact, letters had come by the hundred demanding that a proper Defence course be taught in Hogwarts, leaving Fudge no other choice in the face of his ever-decreasing popularity but to remove Umbridge from Hogwarts, and providing Harry with a fantastic opportunity._

 _Before Dumbledore could even think of making a move, Harry had gone over his head, and, with the help of Amelia and a handful of her Aurors who all vouched for him, had managed to convince the Board of Governors to hire Sirius Black as the new Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts. Sirius accepted immediately, and had signed his employment contract within the next hour, after which he had immediately gone to pick out a proxy for the Black seat on the Wizengamot, despite the fact he rarely attended the usual meetings anyway, getting his updates from Remus and only coming around if Remus informed him of something he wanted to put his vote behind._

 _To the shock of the entirety of Wizarding Britain, the proxy for the Most Ancient and Noble House of Black was a muggle-born by the name of Edward Tonks, husband to the newly reinstated Andromeda Tonks nee Black, and father to Nymphadora Tonks. This made quite the splash in various political circles as four of the oldest and most powerful families in Wizarding Britain were being represented by a werewolf, a goblin, a centaur, and muggle-born; something that was inconceivable not three years ago._

 _With Sirius taking over the Defence classes, Harry didn't feel guilty reducing his own classes to just once a week, which was fortunate as he explained the Circle to the figure and how he had already been sent on no less than five combat missions to help fend off various strange targets, even joining his mother on one to protect another coven as Riddle made yet another attempt at finding the Oracle of Delphi. Other than that, he was usually sent to places whose relevance to the war he couldn't discern. A series of underground train tracks in New York, according to Daphne's information; a cave in the Himalayas that seemed to be made entirely out of glass with a strange ticking noise coming from deep within it; a massive dilapidated temple in Japan…_

 _He mentioned how he had noticed during his most recent mission to the temple that the Dark Mark that many of the Death Eaters he fought bore was no longer vanishing after death, and his curiosity about what the implications of this small, seemingly pointless change were._

 _"And how do you feel about it?" The figure asked. "This war you've decided to fight? Surely seeing and inflicting so much death must affect you?"_

 _"I'd be worried if it didn't," Harry replied. "It's never easy just appearing somewhere and rallying brave and women to fight beside me, to see them die and then to leave with barely a word so that I can come back and play the part most expect of me. Especially when some of my secrets are already coming to light."_

 _"You're referring to the revelation of your familiar?"_

 _"Yeah," Harry said. "After our little stunt, Mrs. Weasley wrote to her kids to warn them about how dangerous I was. Ron already hated me, so it wasn't hard to despise me with his mother's go ahead. Ginny, on the other hand, adores her oldest brothers, and is disgusted by the way Ragnok threatened Bill's job as well as the fact that I would – according to her mother – order my beast to attack Charlie. At least the twins are still my friends. They demanded that I explain what was going on, and once I introduced them to Kyd and explained my side of things, they came around – even going so far as to find it all hilarious, as they too have been forced to live Bill and Charlie's shadows despite being two of the most brilliant wizards I've ever met, and thanking Kyddris for knocking Charlie down a few pegs while promising to write a formal letter of thanks to Ragnok for doing the same to Bill."_

 _"And what of the killing itself?" The figure asked. "How do you feel when you take an opponent's life?"_

 _"That's a bit more complicated," Harry said sheepishly._

 _"Take all the time you need."_

 _Heaving a sigh, Harry stared at his bare feet wriggling around in the snow, not feeling any of the cold that he should have from the crystalized ice, but at the same time, not melting any of it with his natural furnace-like body temperature._

 _"I want to say that I take no pleasure in it," Harry began quietly. "But that would be a lie."_

 _The figure said nothing, its posture remaining unchanged as it sat quietly beside him, staring off into the woods ahead of them. He waited for it to move or say something, before continuing once he was sure that he would not be interrupted or judged._

 _"I'm not saying I get off on going on some sort of killing spree and murdering orphans or anything." The figure chuckled at this, but otherwise said nothing. "But I can't deny that I don't feel_ bad. _At first I did. After the Quidditch Cup last year, I couldn't stop thinking about what I did to those men. I couldn't stop thinking about how their lives had ended, just like that, because of me. I kept wondering if they had families. Friends. Loved ones. How I may have made someone into a widow. Or an orphan. That, especially, weighed on me. My parents had been taken from me, and there was a very real chance that I had just done the same thing to some other child somewhere. Eventually, I started to think about the events leading up to my killing of those men. I remembered how they were about to violate Fleur and Gabby in the most disgusting of fashions. Then I remembered that Fleur and Gabby weren't the only veela there, as the Bulgarian cheerleading team was composed fully of them not to mention the hundreds of other girls there._

 _"If I hadn't killed those men – if I spared them a second chance they hadn't asked for or earned – and they went off and managed to go through with what they wanted to do with some other girls, then it would be my fault. After coming to this realization, I started sleeping much easier, and the guilt wasn't so heavy a burden anymore. I remind myself of the kind of people I'm fighting. How they follow a megalomaniacal lunatic who does get off on slaughtering innocent people and persecuting them for something they can't control._

 _"That worked, for a while. At least it did when dealing with the seemingly unending supply of masked grunts that Riddle throws around who can be taken down with ease. I always made sure to keep the concept that my opponents were all people too. People with lives, and families, and ideals all their own. People who had made the choice to side with Riddle, knowing full well the dangers they would be facing. More recently, though, I've been… enjoying the fights. It feels particularly good to just turn into Nightfire, and let loose. Feeling my enemies tear open from claws. Tasting their blood on my tongue. Smelling the charred remains of someone caught in the path of my fire. On this last mission though, things changed again. There was a man there who I fought against while separated from my allies. It was one of the hardest fights I've ever been in, with the exception of Riddle, and when I beat him, he smiled, and thanked me for giving him the honour of a warrior's death." Harry paused and took a deep breath. A wave of comfort emanating from the figure washed over him, and he smiled as he took another deep breath, basking in the sudden scent of vanilla and old parchment before continuing._

 _"When I was fighting that man… I never felt more alive. I could tell he was feeling the same thing, too. We were equals in almost every way, and the longer we fought, the more I started to feel like we were gaining a mutual understanding of each other, and from that I started to respect him more and more. This was the third time I've had to use all of my power and everything I know in order to even think about surviving a fight, but during the other two… it was nothing like this._

 _"Fighting Riddle has always been something I've felt that I had to do. Both times, it felt more like what I expected it would feel like to have to fight against some sort of monstrous creature, or otherworldly force. This… this was more like when I had fought against the Horntail. There were a ton of underhanded things either of us could have done to finish things quickly, but neither of us did. I don't know why Hiroshi fought on Riddle's side, though I could tell that he was the average bigoted Death Eater, but I do know that there was pain in his heart and strength in his convictions."_

 _"And now – after all you've seen and done in such a short time – what does taking a life mean to you?"_

 _"I believe that wanton murder is evil," Harry said thoughtfully. "I've seen the remains of Riddle's soul from the destroyed horcruxes and was sickened by what that poor excuse for a man had done to himself in the pursuit of power. I believe that a war can't be won with Stunners and Bat-Bogey Hexes when the enemy is using the Unforgiveables. I don't believe that all killing is wrong, though. I fight so that the people closest to me and the students I pledged to protect can live their lives safe and free of fear. I don't believe in fighting for the sake of pride, anger, or other momentary passions as it's nothing but violence begetting violence. I do believe that death is an important part of life. As such, I believe that there is no greater celebration of life than to put it all on the line as your will and ideals clash with those of another."_

 _"Maybe you should switch to teaching philosophy," the figure quipped._

 _Harry chuckled quietly and felt himself being pulled away. He reluctantly bid his friend farewell before disappearing from the clearing, leaving the figure sitting there alone, contemplating the young man's progress. "You certainly are an interesting one, Harry Potter. I look forward to watching you turn into the man you once were."_

*(OoO)*

Daphne shot up in her bed as the clear ring on her finger burned and information flowed into her mind. Looking around, she saw that it was still nearly pitch black in the room she shared with Harry – the only light coming from the dwindling embers in the fireplace, and the soft blue and orange glows coming from the markings on Zephyr's feathers and Kyddris' belly as the two slept peacefully. Grabbing her wand, she cast a quick _tempus_ and sighed irritably when she saw that it was nearly one in the morning. Reaching across the bed, she wrapped her fingers around the firm muscle of Harry's shoulder and gave it a gentle shake.

"Harry, wake up," she whispered. "We have another mission."

Harry's eyes shot open as he skipped right passed groggy to being wide awake in a matter of moments. "Again?" He asked as he quickly started getting dressed, stubbornly ignoring the coin that had materialized on the foot of the bed.

"It's the third in as many weeks," Daphne said as she too got to her feet and started dressing herself.

"And on Valentine's Day too," Harry groaned. "I wanted to take you out today."

"Well, it's a little unorthodox… but a super early morning walk through the woods along the border of Germany and France sounds kind of romantic."

Harry's brow furrowed as he threw a traveling cloak around his shoulders and Daphne didn't need to have a direct line to his emotions to know when he finally understood what she was saying.

"No way, Daphne!"

Reaching down, Daphne snatched the coin off the bed and held it tightly in front of her. "This is supposed to be a stealth mission – meaning no giant dragons or thunderbirds allowed – and I refuse to sit by and let you go alone. So, we can sit here and declare the mission a failure, or you can walk over here and let me do what you've been training me and the other students to do."

Harry's pupils narrowed to slits and he actually _snarled_ at her as he stormed over to her. She could feel the extreme rage he was feeling, but did nothing other than smile fondly as she could also feel the affection and protectiveness fueling it. She did feel chills run up her spine though as she felt the primal side of Harry bellow angrily and demand she be put in her proper place for trying to control him and bend him to her will. The first time she had felt Nightfire make those kinds of demands of Harry, she had felt a small trickle of fear pass through her even as she reassured herself that Harry would never allow himself to do that kind of thing to her. Now, though, she wasn't a thirteen year old girl still caught in the beginnings of puberty. She was fully embroiled in all sorts of hormones, and her boyfriend might as well have been chiseled out of marble. Not to mention he radiated raw _power,_ so much that it nearly made her salivate. And now that they were officially together, she was just beginning to reap the rewards of over a year of patience and teasing as she started to push the envelope a little more all the time.

Other girls had fantasies of their first times being a soft, gentle affair, with lots of eye contact and softly spoken words of affection on top of a bed of rose petals or something, but Daphne had never seen the appeal. Granted, she had already met Harry and learned about their bond by the time the girls in her dorm began talking about boys and sex, and when they did, all she had been able to think of were a pair of glowing green eyes with narrow pupils and the words _he sees you as his mate_.

When she had decided to pursue Harry, she had already seen the beast manifest in his human form a few times – particularly just before being forced to transform during the full moon – and as such, she had started to become intrigued with the notion of what it would take to see the beast take complete control of the man.

Because of this, Daphne doubted very much that there would be any rose petals during her first time with Harry. The longer he went without giving in, the more brutal it would be, which was exactly what she wanted. It touched her that he would go to such lengths to try and control himself so as not to hurt her, but Daphne could tell that it was always a difficult and painful battle for Harry to wrestle with both human hormones and the instincts of a creature comprised of two apex predators.

She planned on showing Harry one way or another that she cared for every part of him. From the heroic young man who was forced to fight a war against a dark lord who had murdered his parents and tried his best to help those in need; to the tortured and angry man who wanted nothing more than to rail against those who had schemed and manipulated every facet of his life – to leave it all behind and let someone else deal with everyone's problems for once; to the majestic beast who was only let loose on the battlefield.

A sharp tug behind her navel jolted Daphne from her thoughts, and before she knew it, Harry had her pinned against a tree – eyes glowing and teeth already sharpening into fangs.

"You _will_ stay under the Invisibility Cloak at all times, you _will_ stay right near me, and you _will_ do _exactly_ as I say. Understand?"

"But –"

"Do. You. Understand?" Harry growled, his hair growing as fur started to coat his skin.

"Yes," Daphne said petulantly. _Guess I won't be needing that cold shower after all,_ she thought to herself.

Harry tossed her his cloak, completing his semi-Transfiguration, making him look like a tall, shadow as the glowing in his eyes faded. He reached out and summoned his staff in one hand and his sword in his other. A quick wave of his sword later, and he silenced both their footsteps as well as enchanting their boots

"What are we here for?" Harry asked quietly as he raised his head and sniffed the air.

"The artifact mentioned that the people you've been chasing are somewhere in the vicinity," Daphne replied. Harry's investigation into the strange murders in France had hit a wall as neither Lucas Delacour nor Nicolas had been able to grant him access to examine the bodies or the scenes of the crimes.

Harry swore under his breath and immediately called Dobby and Tipsy. "Go fetch Newton Scamander and Lucas Delacour," he ordered. "Tell them that I'm on the trail of our quarry, and would like their assistance."

Dobby and Tipsy vanished and Harry lifted his head to sniff the air once more. "There's a house nearby," he said. "Bring out Rosie and have her take a look around."

Daphne did as she was told and Rosie materialized from her shadow before trotting off to sniff around. She had never seen Harry act so cold, or commanding before. Was this how he was on his other missions? Or was it just because he was forced to drag her along? She felt hot indignation flood her cheeks and make its way down her neck. Not only was he acting like the many adults who had been trying to keep him in the dark over the years, but he was treating her like a little sibling that he had to drag along to a friend's house.

Lucas and Newt appeared next to Harry, and the three of them started combing through the forest with Daphne trailing angrily behind.

Eventually, Rosie seemed to find something as she ran back to the group, barking excitedly and indicating that she wanted them to follow. Harry, Lucas, and Newt all ran after Rosie, forcing Daphne to curse angrily as she was forced to run after them as well. All three men easily outpaced her, and she struggled to keep up but quickly lost sight of them as they sprinted into the shadows.

Slowing to a stop, Daphne doubled over and tried to catch her breath. She thought she had been in fairly decent shape, especially after all those dodging exercises Harry made them do, but it was a real blow to her pride that Newton Scamander – a man who had to be nearly a hundred years old – had easily outrun and lost her in the forest. Standing up straight, Daphne started walking in the direction that she had last seen the others running, picking up her pace when she heard a series of cracks far off in that same direction.

Her lungs were burning once more, and she could barely hear anything but the sound of her pounding heartbeat and ragged breathing. It was only because she had tripped on an exposed root in the snow that she heard another crack of someone apparating behind her. She heard footsteps approaching, and froze in place, before scurrying towards the tree whose root she had tripped over, ignoring the cold of the snow soaking through her pants as she held her legs to her chest, making sure that she was properly covered by the Invisibility Cloak just as a man came running out of the trees and tripped on another root not five feet from her. From where she was sitting, she could see the man's face as he tried to clamber to his feet.

She figured the man was a couple inches shorter than her, and fairly stocky. He had skin paler than even her own, yet somehow didn't look very sickly. His messy, brown hair stuck to his head in wet, matted curls, which framed his sharp jawline as they hung limply down to his shoulders. He was dressed in torn pyjamas covered in red and brown stains, with some of the former growing as he bled from various gashes across his body. What really surprised her, though, were his eyes – which were a startling shade of red, and searching frantically for an escape route as another crack and footsteps started echoing through the night.

The red-eyed man froze momentarily as the strange, uneven footsteps drew closer. It sounded as if someone was walking with a single metal boot on, as every other crunching footstep in the snow was accompanied by a metallic _clank!_

 _Crunch. Clank!_

 _Crunch. Clank!_

 _Crunch. Clank!_

The red-eyed man seemed to regain his senses as he continued looking for the best escape route. He had just made a decision and barely taken a single step when a series of high-pitched whistles filled the air. A moment later, Daphne had to hold back a shriek of fright as several metallic blurs soared through the air, burying themselves into the man at intervals along his arms and legs before lifting him up and pinning him to the tree just across from her.

 _Crunch. Clank!_

 _Crunch. Clank!_

 _Crunch. Clank!_

"No! Please! No!" The man shouted as whoever was approaching came from behind Daphne's tree. "Please! I have a family! No! Don't do this please!"

 _Crunch. Clank!_

 _Crunch. Clank!_

 _Crunch. Clank!_

Daphne pressed her hands over her mouth to keep quiet as the man kept begging and pleading for his life, watching, transfixed, as the blood seeped down his arms and legs before dripping into the snow. She could hear the footsteps not even five feet from her as whoever it was passed her hiding place.

 _Crunch. Clank!_

 _Crunch. Clank!_

 _Crunch. Clank!_

Daphne stared fearfully as a man in dark, hooded robes stepped up to the man pinned to the tree. She could see now that it was his left leg that was making the clanking sound, but the man didn't seem to be at all off balance as he walked forward. His long, baggy robes hid what it was making the sound, and she had to restrain another gasp of fright as he silently watched his trapped prey, not moving a muscle as more metallic blurs zoomed out of his robes and stabbed through the sides of the man's torso, causing him to shriek in pain.

Upon closer inspection, Daphne saw that the things pinning the man were thin, four-inch rectangular blades, and that they seemed to be vibrating ever so slightly while lodged inside both man and tree. Once again, Daphne was forced to watch as the hooded man lifted his right arm, which creaked metallically, indicating that he either had some strange armor on him, or this man carried a _lot_ of knives, and ran his hand over his captive's chest slowly cutting open his chest and ignoring his screams of pain as five bloody lines were drawn from his left shoulder to right hip.

The hooded man continued to slowly cut his victim, over and over. Not once did he make a single sound besides the creaking of the innumerable knives within his robes as he worked. Eventually, the pinned man's screams died down, having screamed himself hoarse and not being able to properly maintain consciousness. Daphne watched horrified as the hooded man paid no attention. He simply kept leaving cuts in series of fives all over the man's body. By the time the blades pinning the man to the tree retracted, Daphne could tell that he had already been dead for at least five minutes. Still, the hooded man didn't utter a word as he lay the corpse on the snow and his blades spun in midair, flinging any blood off them before returning to the man's robes.

His work done, the man turned to leave, but stopped and looked in her direction, allowing Daphne to see the lower half of a face covered in stitches, with grey, sickly skin. Daphne's heart stopped as the man looked at the ground in front of her, and she noticed the tracks in the snow from where she had dragged herself to her current hiding spot. The charm Harry had placed was only on her feet. It didn't account for one skidding their behind through the snow.

Holding her breath, Daphne watched as several blades flew back out of the man's robes. She wanted to close her eyes, so as not to watch her inevitable demise, but a large pulse of magic made her freeze in place, her body locked where it was scrunched up by the trunk of the massive tree. She tried to fight the effects, but nothing she did worked and she was struck with the idea that she would die before apologizing to Harry for being such a brat and for ruining his Valentine's Day.

Death didn't come for her, though, as a series of bangs in the direction she remembered Harry, Lucas, and Newt running off drew the hooded man's attention. A moment later, a familiar voice shouting through the air made hope swell in her chest as the man quickly returned his blades to his robes and apparated away, leaving Daphne frozen in place with the rapidly cooling corpse of the red-eyed man until a familiar four-legged chimera landed in front of her and shifted back to Harry before grabbing the Invisibility Cloak off her and freeing her once he discovered the state she was in.

Crouching down, Harry wrapped his arms around her and held her close to his chest as the tears suddenly appeared, and she allowed herself to process the fact that she had just been closer to death moments ago than any other time in her life. Her sobs eventually died down, though, when she felt hot tears splashing on her from above and found Harry to be crying quietly as well.

"You're okay," he muttered. "You're okay."

She wasn't sure how true that statement was, but it sounded more like he was trying to reassure himself anyway. If that was the case, then she could be okay, at least until they got back to their nice comfy room in Harry's office back at Hogwarts.


	36. Chapter 36

Daphne's tone was cold and numb as she recounted what she had witnessed. Harry knew she could feel his guilt for having left her behind when they ran after Rosie. He hadn't even noticed that she wasn't there until they were nearly at the house with the smoking chimney he had smelled earlier, but they had been struck by an ambush before he could even turn around. He wished he could tell what she was feeling right then, but her end of their connection had been steadfastly closed, and he wasn't about to pry if she wanted the privacy he had robbed of her when his Animagus form had imprinted on her.

He watched her describe in a cold voice the man with the blades hunt down the poor bastard laying on the ground not twenty feet from them and proceed to cruelly rip him to shreds while her face remained expressionless, and he was reminded of when they first met on the Hogwarts Express over two years ago. While she still maintained her cold demeanor now from time to time, there was a distinct difference in it. She was no longer seen as cold and vicious. His younger students had no problem approaching her to ask for help when he was busy during his nightly study sessions, and she almost always gave it (though she had to try her best not to simply wind up doing their homework for them, as Harry had explained that they wouldn't learn anything that way), and seeing her smiling or laughing in public was no longer considered breaking news within the Hogwarts Grapevine.

Once she had answered all of Lucas and Newt's questions, Harry pulled her away while they went over to inspect the corpse. They stopped about thirty feet from the other two in front of the massive form of Harry's biggest surprise that evening.

"Is that –"

"Hagrid?" Harry asked. "Yeah. We found him half dead not far from where we were ambushed. No sign of Madame Maxime though. He must have been walking for weeks to get here from the northern part of Germany."

Daphne did a very good impression of a goldfish as she gaped at Hagrid's unconscious body and Harry smiled fondly for a moment before his concerned frown returned and he gently reached out to grab Daphne's arm.

"Are you sure you're alright?" He asked.

Daphne's lip twitched at his concern. "I'm fine."

"Do you want to go back to Hogwarts?"

In an instant, she had wrenched her arm from his grip, and her cold mask lowered just enough to let him see her fury at what he had just asked. "No," she hissed. "I already told you that I'm fine and perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I don't need you playing the overprotective boyfriend."

Harry squashed the instinct to react with his own anger as her control slipped just a tad, and he saw a hint of emotion spark behind her eyes. He was suddenly reminded once more of his third year, after he had uncovered that Hermione had applied her prodigious intellect into constructing a runic array to eavesdrop on him and record whatever he said.

*(OoO)*

 _It was almost a week since Harry had discovered that one of his best and, until recently, only friends had gone so far as to spy on him. Since then, his emotions seemed to be in a constant flux, making him rather frustrated with himself as he had been trying his hardest to master the techniques described in the books that Severus had given him and Daphne on Occlumency. All of them built on the idea of controlling oneself; of acknowledging one's feelings and mastering them, but Harry didn't even know_ what _he was feeling other than anger. As a result, his frustrations continued to mount, and he had started snapping at the slightest thing._

 _It had all come to a head when he had been distracted during Potions, and he had not caught Malfoy levitating extra fire seeds into his poor excuse for a Confusion Concoction until he was instinctively pulling Neville to the ground as flaming hunks of cauldron went flying around the room as his potion exploded and it was only thanks to the many,_ many _wards he had set up around the Potions' classrooms to account to being forced to teach in a poorly ventilated dungeon with barely enough funding to refill his storerooms every year and Severus' quick reflexes that no one was hurt. When Harry had pulled himself to his feet, Severus had already vanished the remains of his potion and cauldron and was marching towards him, looking angrier than Harry had ever seen him, even before they had come to a truce over whatever it was that Harry's Mum had left for him._

 _"Tell me, Potter," he sneered. "Are you really so incompetent that you can't understand that leaving a potion to simmer means you_ stop adding ingredients _?"_

 _At that point, Harry felt something snap as he heard Malfoy snickering across the room. He forgot that he and Severus were playing a part and couldn't stop himself as the words tumbled out of his mouth._

 _"No, sir, I just figured I would see how many fire seeds it would take to make an explosion to get me out of class for the rest of the year."_

 _Snape had taken fifty points from Gryffindor for reckless endangerment of his fellow students and assigned Harry detention every day for a month. Harry just rolled his eyes and gathered his things before storming out. He wound up skipping the rest of his classes and spent the rest of the day in the Chamber of Secrets, undoing much of his hard work restoring it as he fired spell after spell at everything around him, reducing the outer chamber to rubble._

 _By the time he had calmed down and repaired everything, Harry had missed both lunch and dinner and was feeling irritated once more as he made his way down to the dungeons. He fully expected to be spending the next month cleaning cauldrons while listening as Severus reverted back to the snide git he had been during Harry's first two years._

 _Instead, he entered Severus' class and found him sitting calmly behind his desk. There was only one cauldron laid out on one of the desks, and it was in pristine condition._

 _"Good evening, Professor," Harry said cautiously, not sure what to expect._

 _Severus reached into his robes and pulled out a small vial, placing it on the corner of his desk without taking his eyes off the essay he was marking. "Drink that."_

 _"What?"_

 _"Drink it," Severus said, finally lifting his eyes to meet Harry's._

 _"What is it?"_

 _"A variation of the standard Calming Draught. You and I are going to talk while you brew me a perfect Confusion Concoction, and I won't have you losing control of your emotions this time."_

 _Grabbing the bottle, Harry ignored Severus' piercing gaze as he reached into his bag for his various potion supplies. Unpacking his kit, Harry opened the bottle and poured a little bit of it onto a small metallic sheet. He then wafted the potion carefully before carefully inspecting its colour, thickness, and transparency. When he was done with that, he pulled out one of the newer books on Potions that he had bought and flipped through to the page containing the various diagnostic, analysis, and scanning charms before quietly casting them. Most of the spells took a few attempts, as he hadn't had much practice with them and they were coming from a book that opened with a warning that stated the materials and subjects it covered would eventually go beyond what was seen during standard wizarding education._

 _Severus didn't say a word the entire time as he watched Harry methodically reverse engineer his potion to confirm that it was indeed a Calming Draught before analysing the supposed variations Severus had made, and what their effects would be._

 _Finally, nearly half an hour since he had arrived, Harry had determined that it was indeed a Calming Draught, and that Severus had modified it to negate the usual mental fogginess that drinking the potion usually resulted in. Instead, when Harry drank it, it would make both his body and mind physically incapable of becoming agitated or excited in any way. Satisfied with what he had found, Harry took the rest of the potion and downed it in one gulp – not even tasting it as he threw it past his tongue and down his throat._

 _Immediately, he felt the simmering anger in his chest ease off, and he breathed deeply as he headed towards the storeroom to collect the necessary ingredients. When he came back and started to carefully cut his eel eyes into perfect quarters with practiced ease, Severus finally started to speak._

 _While Harry worked on his potion, Severus calmly guided him through the maelstrom of emotions he was feeling – his blunt honesty making short work of explaining and elaborating on the many confusing feelings coursing through Harry – before forcing Harry to look inward and ask himself why he was feeling each of those emotions. When Harry would finally give an answer, they would then talk about his reasoning and figure out whether he needed to move on or, if not, how to properly sort the emotion so that it could be easily managed. By the time Harry went back to his dorm and started another attempt on his Occlumency training, he felt significantly lighter._

 _He had seen a Mind Healer when inside the Dilation Chamber at Gringotts, and while Barggurk had done wonders with helping him recover from the last twelve years, Harry had never been able to properly open up to the goblin. He had managed to move past most of the more debilitating psychological effects that came with spending over a decade being trapped with monsters, the trauma that came from experiencing so many near-death experiences in such a short amount of time (one of which involved him killing a man with his bare hands), and the betrayal of learning that the only man that he thought was maybe trustworthy had been planning on manipulating Harry's entire life to meet his own ends. Barggurk and Griphook had even congratulated him on managing such tremendous progress in the six short months they spent together – but despite Harry now having recovered some of his mental health, it wasn't until that night in the dungeons that his emotional wellbeing started to improve._

 _He and Severus had formed a bond as Harry stood there, carefully preparing a potion he, quite frankly, thought was too simple to be taught in third year, under Severus' critical, yet approving, gaze. Before Zephyr and Tipsy had saved him, Harry had the feeling that he might be able to trust Dumbledore, but Severus, despite – or maybe because of – the fact that he worked as a spy for Dumbledore, was the first adult and authority figure that Harry felt he could trust not to share his secrets. Yes, he knew logically that Severus had made a vow on his magic not to divulge Harry's secrets, but, as he was starting to learn, logic and emotion had the tendency to work in diametrically opposite directions from time to time._

*(OoO)*

Snapping back to the present, Harry sighed as he saw Daphne close herself back off.

"So, what was it you found?" She asked snippily, crossing her arms and stamping her feet in place to fight off the cold February air.

 _"You might want to try summoning that broomstick up your girlfriend's behind before it gets frozen there,"_ Lucas grunted in French, and Harry made himself feel bad for snorting as he cast a quick warming charm over her before joining Lucas and Newt over the body.

"This is truly remarkable," Newt said as he examined the multitude of lacerations all over the man's body. "If I didn't know better, I would have sworn that this man died as a result of a werewolf attack."

"Even though the full moon isn't for another ten days?" Harry asked.

Newt nodded and ran his wand over the corpse. "I never believed them, but there were a number of reports during the War of werewolf attacks despite the lack of full moon. For the most part, they were dismissed as hysteria, or someone stumbling into the territory of a wolf born from two werewolves who mated during the full moon."

"I can see why," Daphne said. "Voldemort's forces were terrifying enough with the werewolves only coming during the full moon. If he found a way –"

"I'm not talking about Voldemort," Newt said, cutting her off.

Daphne scowled and narrowed her eyes. "But you said –"

"Voldemort may be a Dark Lord of extreme power and skill, but he's not the first," Newt replied sternly. "Nor will he be the last. What happened in Britain before Harry's parents were taken from him, while tragic, wasn't even classified as a war by the ICW, despite people calling it such."

"You're talking about Grindelwald," Harry concluded.

Newt nodded, a faraway look in his eye, and Harry couldn't help but wonder if it was the same look that he had whenever he thought about his life or the war.

"You fought in the war against Grindelwald?" Daphne asked, her cold tone touched with a hint of awe.

"Everyone fought in that war," Newt replied sadly. "We shared the battlefield with the muggles those days, as Grindelwald tried to reveal our world and subjugate them. Luckily, muggle warfare has somehow gotten even more chaotic in recent years, so they generally didn't even know what it was they were seeing as they slaughtered each other."

"If anyone could figure out how to replicate what Grindelwald did, it would be Voldemort," Lucas stated.

"Except he didn't," Harry argued. "You both heard Daphne. All of these wounds were inflicted with knives, not by a werewolf."

"I'm afraid there just isn't enough information," Lucas said with a sigh. "I've already made requests for the autopsy and investigation reports from the other attacks that you told me might be linked, but they seem to have been caught in bureaucratic purgatory somewhere. Until they get through, I think that we've done all that we can do."

"Would you mind terribly if I recorded some initial observations?" Newt said as Lucas pulled out his wand, probably to request back up.

"Be my guest."

Pulling out a roll of parchment and a quill from his robe, he tapped both with his wand and they floated up to a spot near his right ear as he pulled on a pair of gloves.

"Subject is a white male, roughly five foot nine. Based on matching facial structure and eyes of a similar shade – brown with hints of green along the outside – as well as timing and location of the body –"

"They're red."

Newt stopped his recording and looked up from where he was kneeling next to the body.

"Pardon?"

Daphne's face remained impassive, but Harry couldn't help but smile as her cheeks burned from him, Lucas, and Newt all suddenly fixing her with their attention. "His eyes," she said. "They aren't brown, they're red. I saw them."

Lucas and Newt both stiffened as a look of dread crossed over their faces. "Are you absolutely sure?" Lucas demanded. "There is no possible chance that it could have been a trick of the light, or anything of the sort?"

Daphne shook her head, her blonde hair flying side to side. "You don't mistakenly see eyes like he had. They almost glowed, and were nearly the exact same colour as his blood."

" _Monsieur_ Scamander, how certain are you that this man is related to the two that we found earlier?"

"A passing glance would tell anyone that this man is the father and husband of the two we found after the ambush," Newt replied. "I can cast a few spells to confirm it when we get back there to confirm it though."

Harry stiffened as he just barely heard a pair of cracks in the distance and held up his hands to indicate they all be silent. He closed his eyes and threw his senses as far out as he could, snapping them open just in time to tackle Daphne to the ground as the two rapidly approaching presences burst from the surrounding trees on either side of them. The one nearest him just barely missed Harry's back as he fell while the other managed to take a slice out of Lucas' arm before forcing him and Newt back as they crouched protectively in front of the corpse and glared at Harry as he got himself and Daphne up on their feet.

"Who are you?" Harry demanded as he stared down the two figures.

Both of them were men and quite tall. Judging by the way their higher-end combat robes hung off them, they were also fairly thin. Their skin was white as the snow on the ground and they both looked strangely well-groomed for a pair of people snarling viciously in front of a dead body. What did catch Harry's attention, though, were their eyes. Both men had burning red eyes and Harry briefly thought of the only other person he had ever encountered with red eyes. But where Riddle's eyes were completely filled with a bright, fiery red with the exception of the snake-like pupils, in the case of these men, it was only the iris that was unusual as they burned with sanguine fury.

"So that's how you've been hunting us, Lycan," the one that had sliced Lucas hissed. He had long, pale blond hair tied back into a neat ponytail and reminded Harry of someone you would see in a portrait of an old, abandoned castle. "But don't think siding with a filthy Day Walker will save you from being skinned like the animal you are."

The man snarled at Harry once more, and he suddenly realised what Lucas and Newt had been so worried about as he watched the man's teeth grow longer and sharpen into an impressive set of fangs before he burst forward with speed that no human would be able to attain. Never before had he been so grateful for Griphook's brutal combat lessons as he and the vampire was suddenly raining blows upon him with nearly bone-breaking force. Grunting as the force of the vampire clawing at his ribs knocked the air out of him, even if he had managed to transfigure his skin just in time to prevent what would probably have been disembowelment, he ducked another punch being thrown his way and slammed his hand up into the vampire's face, conjuring a bulb of garlic in the palm of his hand just before the impact, and breaking the vampire's nose.

The vampire screamed in pain and Harry pulsed his magic into his leg before kicking the vampire in the chest and sending him careening towards his friend who had been keeping an eye on his friends. His friend was just about to trade places and go after Harry next when he found himself staring into the angry faces of a miniature dragon and bird while a lion held an orb between its jaws that glowed like the sun.

"Make any move and I'll roast you both where you stand," Harry growled. The vampire's snarled and Harry rolled his eyes as he vanished the remnants of the garlic that he had conjured. "I didn't kill this man."

"You think we'd believe a filthy mutt like you?!" The vampire who had attacked him shouted.

"Julian, that's enough," the other ordered. He had hair darker than Harry's, and it was neatly slicked back to show off his high cheekbones and strong jawline. The newly dubbed Julian looked like he wanted to protest, but a hard look from his companion made him settle for simply glaring at them all. "I'm sorry for my associate's behaviour. He means well, but he still hasn't mastered himself."

"How'd you know I have Lycanthropy?" Harry asked.

"Our senses are just as sharp as yours," the vampire replied. "Though, I admit that you don't smell quite like what we normally expect Lycans to."

"I'm not a normal Lycan," Harry said. "Who are you two anyways?"

The vampire pointed to himself and said, "I am Adrien. The man acting like a freshly sired whelp is Julian."

"I'm Harry, and this is Daphne, Lucas, and Newton," Harry replied, pointing to himself and his respective friends in turn.

"I would say it was a pleasure to meet you, but you have yet to prove you didn't kill this man or lower your staff," Adrien said calmly.

"Daphne witnessed the murder," Harry replied, lowering his staff. "She said that a man came and used a series of blades to make it look like a werewolf attack."

"Lies!" Julian exclaimed. "You wand-waving beasts just want to hide the fact that you've figured out how to change on will."

"He's telling the truth," Daphne said harshly, stepping forward to stand next to Harry. "I only regret there was nothing I could do."

"If it is as you say," Adrien began. "Would you consent to me observing the memory?"

"Adrien!" Julian cried. "You can't be serious! Who knows what perverse things are lurking in her mind?"

"I said that's enough, Julian," Adrien growled. "Your prejudices do nothing but reduce us to the monsters the humans would think we are."

"But she's a Day Walker!" Julian argued. "Her very existence is a crime against nature itself!"

A flash of light was the only warning Julian got before Harry was standing over him, a light hissing noise and a tendril of acrid smoke rising from where his sword was pressed against Julian's neck.

"Feel that?" Harry asked lowly, his eyes having reverted to their bestial form. "That's goblin-wrought silver imbued with basilisk venom. You so much as twitch and you'll have killed yourself within minutes. Now, apologise to my mate before I let her take matters into her own hands."

Julian growled, but the steady hissing from the point of contact made him wince in pain before mumbling a less than sincere apology to the ground. Harry removed his sword from his throat but kept it on hand as he turned back to Adrien.

"Now, what exactly is a Day Walker?"

Adrien frowned and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You claim to be this girl's mate, and yet you cannot sense our venom running through her veins."

"Wait," Daphne held up her hands in confusion. For the first time since Harry had found her, her side of their connection opened up and he nearly drowned in the flood of confusion and panic. "Are you trying to say I'm a… a vampire?"


	37. Chapter 37

Daphne groaned as she opened her eyes to the soft light of fire. She distantly heard a gasp from beside her and footsteps running out of the room, and turned her head to see her best friend sitting beside her.

"Daphne! You're awake!" Tracey exclaimed.

"What happened?" Daphne asked, her mind still foggy. "Where am I?"

"You're in Potter Manor. Harry brought you here last night… or this morning? I dunno, time zones are confusing. But he had to get back to Hogwarts so he sent Tipsy to bring me here to be with you."

Daphne felt a wave of shame crash through her as she remembered her forcing Harry to bring her with him on his mission. The ring had indicated that it wouldn't be his usual sojourn into an active warzone, and she had used the pretense of him not being able to bring Zephyr or Kyddris with him to coerce him into letting her go. She thought that she would finally be able to do something other than sitting around Hogwarts patching him up whenever he came back from Merlin knew where. In the end, all she ended up doing was getting let behind after Harry had angrily thrown his Invisibility Cloak at her. Her shame grew as she remembered how close she had been to death and how she had been unable to do a thing until Harry came and rescued her. It was only matched by her anger at the way Harry had acted before coming back for her.

The sound of footsteps approaching drew Daphne from her thoughts and she looked up to see her mother and little sister rushing through the door.

"Daphne, sweetheart, it's so good to see you awake already," her mother exclaimed as she hurried over to start inspecting Daphne for any injuries.

"How long have I been out?" Daphne asked.

"Couple hours," Astoria replied.

Penelope finished inspecting her and stood up, hands on her hips and a glare that froze Daphne in place.

"What the hell were you thinking?!" She shouted. "Running off with Harry on one of his missions like that? You, of all people, should know how dangerous they are! You're going to tell me exactly what happened, right now."

Daphne looked down at her lap and started from the beginning. She could feel the three disapproving glares being leveled at her as she recounted how she had coerced Harry into bringing her with him only to lose him because she couldn't keep up. Her mother stiffened as she described the murder she had witnessed while Tracey and Astoria held her hands comfortingly. By the time she was explaining what they had been theorizing and the subsequent attack by the pair of vampires, Penelope's face had become white as a sheet and her hands shook slightly in her lap.

"Why would they think you were a vampire?" Astoria asked.

Daphne shrugged, but looked at her mother with narrowed eyes. "Do you know why, Mum?"

"Daphne, sweetheart, before I explain everything, you have to remember the kind of man Cyrus is, and the kind of company he keeps," Penelope begged, tears already welling in her warm, hazel eyes. Daphne didn't say anything, but nodded nonetheless, a sense of dread creeping up her spine. Penelope sighed and took a seat on the corner of her bed. "When I told you that I had no idea who your birth father was… I lied."

"But… why?" Daphne asked as Tracey and Astoria gasped at the revelation that Cyrus Temple was not Daphne's biological father.

"Because if the truth got out, I, and more importantly, _you,_ would have been killed."

"What do you mean?" Tracey asked quietly. "I know pureblood society is rough, but…"

"You're absolutely right, Tracey," Penelope replied. "The society I and my daughters grew up within was not the best place to raise a child. My husband's taking up and desecration of the name my family has carried for generations since we came to Britain with the Potters is evidence of this."

"Mum, maybe you should start from the beginning," Astoria said softly.

Penelope took a deep breath and pulled out a little handkerchief to wipe her eyes. "Soon after graduating from Hogwarts, I decided to go traveling. My parents were rather supportive, as they thought that taking some time to see the world would provide me with a unique perspective before I came back to help my father lead House Greengrass. We didn't have much money, so I generally worked various jobs to fund my travels. One night, while traveling through Romania, I was ambushed by several wizards who made it clear that they planned to have their way with me before obliviating me so that I couldn't report them. Our family has a history of struggling with more combat-oriented magic, and I was no exception. I fought as hard as I could, but they outnumbered me four-to-one and it didn't take long for them to disarm and trap me. Just as I was about to accept my fate, there was a flash of light as one of the men was hit with a massive ball of fire, while a figure shot out of the darkness and ripped the other three to shreds in a matter of moments.

"I watched as the figure turned out to be a man, and kept my mouth shut as he hungrily drank the blood of his victims. I quickly figured out that I was in the company of a vampire, and prepared for the worst when he stood up walked towards me, only to free me and ask if I was alright. He introduced himself as Gabriel Albescu, and offered to shelter me for the night, as the nearest town was too far on foot, and I didn't want to apparate all the way back to the one I had come from."

"And you just went with him?" Tracey asked in astonishment.

Penelope smiled and shook her head. "I did. Something told me that I could trust him, so I grabbed my wand and followed him back to the most gorgeous cottage I had ever seen. When we arrived, I explained why I was traveling, and Gabriel offered me a job running errands for him, as he was unable to leave during the day." Another fond smile found its way on to her mother's face, and Daphne watched as she stared into space, lost in happier memories while her own dread increased. "I agreed. Eventually, he and I fell in love and I ended up spending the next three years with him. We were even going to get married. That all fell apart when Gabriel's enclave summoned him. He had told me that he would only be able to stay with me until the day that his enclave summoned him back. He explained how he was the equivalent of the lord of a Noble House within his enclave and said that it could happen at any time. He would be summoned back to return to his duties, and his enemies would kill me if I came with him, so we resolved to enjoy our time together while it lasted."

"Is that when he turned you?" Daphne asked cautiously. The heartbreak in her mother's voice was raw and sincere, and Daphne was pretty sure she had never seen Penelope Greengrass express so much emotion once in their entire time living with her husband.

Penelope chuckled wetly and shook her head. "No, sweetie, Gabriel never turned me. Gabriel was your father."

Daphne gasped as she tried to understand what she had been told. "My father is…"

"A vampire," Penelope finished.

"Then that means that Daphne is a half-vampire, right?" Tracey asked. When Penelope nodded, Tracey got a mischievous grin on her face as she wrapped her arms around Daphne's shoulders. "Would you look at that? Now we're both half-bloods!"

The tension shattered, and all four of them burst out into laughter. Daphne was still reeling from the realization that her father wasn't some monster who had violated her mother and wiped her memory.

 _Too bad no one else in the Wizarding World will believe that,_ she thought bitterly.

"Is that why those vampires called me a Day Walker?" She asked once they had all calmed down.

Penelope nodded with a smile on her face. "Half-vampires, or dhampir, are referred to as Day Walkers by vampires because you don't have the same vulnerability to sunlight that they do. You also benefit from still being able to use a wand, as opposed to the special magic that vampires possess, which is fairly limited."

"Why have I never noticed?" Daphne asked. "I mean, it's not like I've ever had cravings for a nice pint of blood or anything."

"Before you were born, I had an incredibly powerful concealment charm placed on you. It disguised your vampire nature, even from yourself."

"Who placed the charm?"

"I did, with the help of a good friend who agreed to be obliviated afterwards. Everyone else was simply told that those men your father had saved me from had managed to go through with their intentions for me."

"You really loved him, didn't you?" Daphne turned her head to where Astoria was looking sadly down at her lap, her bottom lip trembling. While she couldn't figure out what had suddenly put her sister in such a mood, her mother had no trouble, and immediately stood to wrap Astoria in a big hug.

"Yes, Tori, I did. But that part of my life is over now. You and your sister are the only things that matter to me, regardless of who your fathers are."

Astoria nodded and Daphne joined her mother in wrapping her arms around her little sister. When they finally pulled apart, Daphne looked back down at her lap.

"I think I need to get back to Hogwarts," she mumbled sheepishly. "I need some time to think about all this."

"And apologize to Harry," Astoria added, her earlier happiness gone in an instant.

"Not until he apologizes for being such an arse in the first place," Daphne muttered petulantly. She didn't even hear her mother admonishing her swearing as her head suddenly snapped to the side, her ears ringing and cheek stinging from where Tracey slapped you.

"Tracey!" Penelope exclaimed.

"Sorry, Aunt Penelope, but Daphne needs some sense knocked into her, and as her best friend, it's my job to do it. Do you think you two could give us the room, please?"

Penelope looked hesitant, but she eventually stood up and dragged Astoria – who looked like she wanted to join Tracey in the slapping – out the door and closed it behind them.

"What the fuck was that for?!" Daphne yelled as she shot to her feet.

"For acting like your usual bitchy self towards the one man who you _know_ is dedicated to you above everything else!" Tracey retorted.

"So I'm just supposed to let him treat me like some precious child to be protected?" Daphne demanded. "The same way _he_ was treated by Dumbledore and everyone else?"

"Merlin's balls, you're an idiot!" Tracey exclaimed. "Of course he would treat you like that, you _are_ a child!"

"So is he!" Daphne yelled. "Everyone seems to keep forgetting that he's fifteen too! Even with the extra time he spent with the goblins, he'd only be seventeen. That's barely of age!"

"It has nothing to do with age, and you know it! Harry has experience! For fuck's sake, he had already faced off against Riddle, killed a man, and slayed a bloody basilisk before we met him! More than that, he survived eleven years with those monsters. You're just a school girl who wanted to go on an adventure and manipulated the man who cares for you the most in this world to do it!"

"That's not true, and you know it!" Daphne screamed.

"Yes it is!" Tracey countered. "You got tired of your safe little life inside the school, where your biggest concerns are passing your OWLs and dealing with people like Malfoy, so you decided to turn the hell that is Harry's life into your own personal playground, and force him to take along with you as if it was some sort of field trip and not _a war_."

"I can defend myself!"

"Yeah, your tale of cowering under Harry's Invisibility Cloak while a man murdered someone right in front of you is a thrilling example of your performance in battle!"

Daphne reeled back as if slapped for a second time, but Tracey was on a warpath. "Tell me, what would you have done if you managed to keep up with Harry, and were ambushed with the rest of them? You would have gotten Harry killed is what! You'd get yourself in a bind, and Harry would throw away his life just to keep you safe. Is that what you want?!"

At this point, there were tears flowing down Daphne's cheeks as she imagined a never-ending series of circumstances involving Harry getting killed defending her. Each more graphic than the last.

"I just wanted to help him," she muttered.

"You do already," Tracey said softly, stepping closer and wrapping her in a hug. "None of us are capable of being there for him the way you are. Your connection aside, you are the only one who can understand what it's like to have your childhood taken from you. Not to mention all that time in the Hospital Wing helping Madam Pomfrey has made you even better than he is at Healing, and God knows that boy needs someone who knows what they're doing there."

Daphne giggled softly into her best friend's shoulder. It was true that Harry, for all of his talent, struggled with healing anything more complicated than shallow cuts and cracked bones without the help of his emotions and intent fueling some powerful wild magic. He substituted his apparent lack of skill with being well versed in muggle first aid – as well as having a ridiculously high pain threshold – but after Daphne had woken up to him grunting as he sewed together a gash in his side one night after a mission, she had insisted that she handle his injuries, lest she unleash Madam Pomfrey on him.

When they separated, Daphne felt grateful knowing that her best friend would always be around when she needed some sense knocked into her.

"Thanks, Trace," she whispered. "I dunno what I'd do without you."

Tracey smirked and shrugged her shoulders noncommittally. "Probably die. But then again, we just learned your half-vampire, so killing you might be harder than I previously thought."

"Very funny," Daphne drawled. "Now let's get back to Hogwarts so I can get on my knees and beg for forgiveness."

"I bet that's not the only thing you'd like to do with him while on your knees," Tracey quipped, making Daphne's face burn as she smacked her on the arm and chased her down the halls when Tracey started cackling like a madwoman at her lack of denial.

They met with her mother and sister in sitting room, where she was chatting with Lily and Remus. Daphne took notice of the way Harry's mother and surrogate uncle were sitting particularly close to each other, and the somewhat guilty looks they kept shooting when the other wasn't looking, and made a note to stay far away from whatever was going on there until Harry figured something out and came to her (though, given his stunted emotional intelligence, that could be a while).

They said goodbye to the three adults, and Tipsy brought them back to Hogwarts, apparating them just outside the Slytherin common room. Tracey gave her a reassuring nod before going off in search of Susan, while Astoria glared at her and returned to her dorm to catch a couple more hours of sleep before breakfast, leaving Daphne to quietly make her way up to the seventh floor.

Quietly entering Harry's office, she was greeted by the smell of bacon and the sound of chopping as she found Harry had completely changed his office. It no longer resembled the cross between an office and a lounge that he normally kept it in, nor the training ground room he used for his classes. The room had replaced Harry's desk with a simple wooden table placed in front of the fireplace with two chairs on the ends. There was a partial wall separating the room from where she heard the chopping, and when she followed the sound, she found Harry in a small kitchen, expertly navigating it as he diced various vegetables and threw them in a pan. Zephyr was riding around on his shoulder, and they were talking quietly while Kyddris slept nearby with Bella splayed tiredly along his snout.

The office had shrunk somewhat, offering Kyddris just enough room to curl around the edge of the room while making the entire room feel somewhat more intimate. Daphne stood there and watched as Harry poured some eggs on another pan with one hand while the other flipped the strips of bacon. She soon found herself envisioning a future after Hogwarts, where there was no war, and she would be able to wake up and see this every day. Where she and Harry and Bella could live together in peace, and sit around a table, eating breakfast as they talked about Bella's classes, or Harry's students, or Daphne's work turning the Wizarding World into something she could be proud to say she was a part of.

She had no idea when she started to imagine the three of them as a little family, but somewhere between finally getting together with Harry and enjoying Bella's frequent visits, the idea had become firmly planted in her head and she couldn't convince herself to get it out. With those fantasies in mind, she mustered what little courage she had and walked over to Harry, wrapping her arms around his waist from behind.

"I'm sorry," she murmured as he stiffened before relaxing and continuing to man the frying pans. She opened the floodgates on their connection, and allowed her sincerity to rush forward so he could tell how bad she felt. Taking the pans off the burners, Harry silently moved from her grasp and started to serve the food onto two dinner plates before placing them in a sink where they immediately vanished and turning around to stare at her, reminding her with a single look why she had fallen in love with those shining green eyes in the first place.

"I am too," he croaked. His emotions flooded their connection, but Daphne remained silent as he struggled to put his thoughts into words. "I know how it feels to be shunted off to the side while everyone else is fighting, and I should have taken the time to properly explain why I didn't want you coming with me."

"I shouldn't have forced you to take me in the first place," Daphne replied. "I knew how dangerous the missions the Circle gives you are, and I insisted on coming anyway, even though I knew I wouldn't be anything more than a liability. I was insecure, and believed I needed to be on the front lines in some foreign country to be contributed to the war. More than that, I wanted to be closer to the action, like you are."

"And now?"

"I still want to stand beside you, and will go wherever you go," Daphne stated resolutely. "But I'm willing to properly accept that the battlefield might not be where I'm most useful – especially when I haven't even finished my schooling."

Harry smiled softly and walked over to place a soft kiss on her lips. Daphne responded in kind, thrusting as much emotion and passion into that one simple act, hoping that it would convey what she was still not ready to say, and Harry was even less ready to understand. When they parted, Harry gave her another quick peck before leading her over to the table and pulling out one of the two seats for her. Once she was seated, he rushed back to the kitchen, placing a soft kiss on Bella's forehead and grabbing the two plates he had prepared.

Daphne thanked him, and moaned softly as she tucked into one of the most delicious omelettes she had ever eaten, while Harry watched her with a smile on his face.

Once they were finished, Harry placed the plates in the sink, and joined her on the couch in front of the fire, while the walls and ceiling around them suddenly became transparent so that they could watch the sky slowly grow brighter over the Forbidden Forest. The only part of the room that was unaffected was the corner where Bella and Kyddris were sleeping, as it was still late at night for her.

"I think there's more going on with the war than we think," Harry said.

"What do you mean?"

"It's just… I've been thinking about the missions I've been sent on lately, and something hasn't been adding up. Before Riddle stepped out of the shadows, we already suspected he had taken over the Ministry of Magic in Bulgaria. That means that we can define most of Eastern Europe as under his control, since the Bulgarian Ministry covers several of those countries. Why, then, am I being sent to places like Japan? What are Death Eaters doing there, and why do we not hear reports of them before or after my mission?"

"Don't to forget to ask where Riddle keeps getting all of his troops from," Daphne added. "There are only about twenty or thirty thousand people in all of Magical Britain. Sure, the Wizarding World is fundamentally flawed and broken, but I can't imagine people lining up to join the Death Eaters."

"I think, until we learn more, we should hold off on working for the Circle," Harry suggested. "We'll lose access to their resources, but between my various family libraries, and Nicolas, I don't think we'll need them."

"That's fine by me," Daphne said, sliding the diamond ring off her finger. "I'm not a fan of you answering to anyone but me anyways."

Harry chuckled and gave her a quick kiss as he took the ring from her and placed it in a lockbox the room provided for him before they both vanished again.

"You know that this means you're going to be fighting alongside the Order now, right?" Daphne asked.

"Probably," Harry replied. "But I think it's probably best if I avoid them and just focus on this fake werewolf case of ours."

"About that," Daphne said haltingly. "After you brought me back to Potter Manor, I spoke with my mother about why those vampires kept saying I was one too."

"Really?" Harry asked, grabbing her hand in support. "What did she say?"

Daphne took a deep breath and started to explain everything to Harry. From Cyrus Temple not being her real father, to the revelation that Gabriel Albescu was, and that he was a vampire.

"They called me Day Walker, because, as a dhampir, I don't share their weakness to the sun," Daphne finished, not able to meet Harry's eyes for fear of what she would find. Relief coursed through her as Harry put his fingers under her chin and lifted her face so he could passionately kiss her. When they finally separated, he pulled her into his arms and started to stroke her hair.

"A not-quite-werewolf professor dating a not-quite-vampire student," he mused. "When did our lives become a bad Muggle romance novel?"


	38. Chapter 38

For once, Harry felt he honestly couldn't care less about the people staring at him as he and Daphne walked arm in arm down the streets of Hogsmeade. Astoria had come by and offered to take Bella off their hands after she had woken up and announced her desire to stay rather than return to Potter Manor, so Harry and Daphne were free to enjoy their Valentine's Day together. They were currently headed for the Three Broomsticks where they would be meeting Tracey and Susan for lunch.

"Why does the most romantic day of the year have to fall in the middle of the bloody winter?" Daphne growled as she pushed herself closer to Harry.

"How is it that you can consistently be near the top of all of your classes, and yet are unable to do a proper warming charm?" Harry quipped as he brought his arm up and wrapped his thick cloak around her shoulders while channeling some of his inner fire.

"I can do a warming charm just fine," Daphne replied. "So long as it's on someone else. I'm still getting the hang of charming myself."

"Do you want some help?" Harry asked as he held the door open for her.

"I think I'd like to try getting it on my own first," Daphne said. "At the moment it just seems like I need to practice it more."

Harry smiled and nodded. He was always happy to help, but he liked how independent Daphne was in her attempts to understand and master what she learned. Daphne led them towards a table in the back of the room where Tracey and Susan were already waiting. Harry grabbed Daphne's chair and pulled it out for her while looking around the room, and finally took notice of the many eyes following his every movement before snapping away. Shoving his irritation aside, he sat himself down next to Daphne and stretched his arm along the back of her chair.

"Hello dears, what can I get you?"

Harry looked up and smiled at the friendly looking barmaid. Her long, blonde curls fell past her shoulders and framed her face, where the only signs of age were laugh-lines around her mouth and eyes that seemed to accentuate her appearance. She wore a dress that seemed to be a little too small with a neckline that dipped fairly low. Harry couldn't help but wonder if she wasn't as financially stable as she wanted people to believe as he noticed the familiar tingle of multiple Mending Spells having been cast on the garb, and noticed the faintest signs of the front having been torn at some point, suggesting that the neckline didn't always dip as low as it did now.

"Four butterbeers, please," he said with a smile. "Also, some fish and chips for me. Daphne, what do you want?"

He felt a trickle of surprise come from his connection with Daphne, and noticed that Susan seemed to have a similar expression on her face as well, and wondered what he had done while the Daphne ordered the same as him and Susan and Tracey ordered a pair of sandwiches. The barmaid took their orders and sauntered off to prepare them, and Harry noticed how both Susan and Tracey were watching her.

"You two know that watching her isn't going to make our food come any faster, right?"

"What are you talking about?" Tracey said as she seemed to shake off her hunger-induced daze and focus back on him – though Susan took a bit longer.

"You're both watching her with a look I've only seen on predators about to get their lunch," Harry noted. "Did you not have breakfast or something?"

"You were doing it too!" Tracey protested.

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"She's talking about you staring at Madam Rosmerta when she came to take our orders," Daphne explained, and Harry could detect a hint of mischief shining in her eyes.

Harry groaned in embarrassment. "You don't think she noticed did you?"

"At this point, I'm pretty sure she's used to it," Susan deadpanned.

"Used to it?" Tracey exclaimed. "The woman revels in it! How do you think she makes most of her money when the prices here are so low?"

Harry frowned in confusion. "Wait, what are you talking about?"

"Harry, it's okay," Susan said sympathetically. "Everyone stares at Madam Rosmerta. It's part of her charm."

Harry's confusion only grew, and he frowned. "I don't understand. Why would she want people to stare at her like that?"

Mercifully, Daphne finally came to his aid – that is, after she stopped uncontrollably giggling. "Harry, Tracey and Susan were staring at her because they found her attractive. Madam Rosmerta is known for using her feminine whiles to tease her customers and garner larger tips."

"Oh!" Harry exclaimed as he turned to watch the curvy barmaid smile the same way Daphne did sometimes before kissing him. He noticed how she seemed to put extra sway in her hips as she walked away from a table of practically drooling boys, and cocked his head. He could see what would make her attractive, and had nothing against her flaunting it, but he couldn't help but be disgusted when a boy he knew to be a seventh year Hufflepuff reached out to grab her rear. He and his friends had broken out into raucous laughter while Madam Rosmerta playfully scolded them, but Harry could detect the traces of fear coming off of her, and felt his anger grow as more and more people seemed to treat her as a piece of meat as opposed to someone providing them with a service. He wondered why she allowed them to do those kinds of things to her, then remembered the subtle signs of financial instability he had noticed when she came by to ask their orders, and was reminded of the few people who had prompted him to return to Surrey over the summer to fight off the Dementors and place as many wards as he could think of around the area.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Daphne asked as she grabbed his hand and brought him back from his musings.

"I don't like how they're treating her," Harry grumbled.

"Don't worry too much about it, Harry," Susan said. "She doesn't seem to mind, so you shouldn't either."

Harry didn't say anything, but Daphne picked up on what he was thinking anyway. "She does mind, doesn't she?"

"Really?" Tracey asked, turning to watch Rosmerta laugh and playfully swat away the wandering hand of a large man who had pulled her into his lap. "It doesn't seem like she does."

"That's because you're not a Beacon," Harry replied. "I can tell she doesn't have any Occlumency training, and can pick up the supressed emotions she's trying to hide. There's so much fear coming off of her whenever someone tries to touch her, I can smell it."

"Well, now I feel guilty," Tracey muttered, sinking slightly into her seat.

"Wait, then what were you afraid she would notice when you were looking at her?" Susan asked.

Harry shared his observations on the state of Madam Rosmerta's clothing, and ducked his head to the pristine clothes he had on. "I didn't want to make her feel like I was just some stuck-up rich kid looking down on her."

"Why would she be afraid of people touching her, though?" Susan asked. "And why would she pretend that she was okay with it?"

"You can't be serious?" Harry asked as both Daphne and Tracey nodded as well. He groaned quietly and pinched the bridge of his nose, reminding himself that all three of them had normal – and, in some cases, quite sheltered – childhoods, that didn't involve roaming around completely alone as a small child to escape abusive relatives, and meeting all sorts of unsavory people. He waved his hand to cast a small privacy charm and opened his eyes. "She either is, or used to be a prostitute."

All three of them gasped and Harry wondered how his friends could be mature enough to discuss a war with him, yet be scandalized at the thought of prostitution as well.

"How do you know?" Daphne asked.

"I met enough of them as a child to recognize the behaviour," Harry replied. "Back then I didn't realize why, but even then I could pick up how they were hiding their fear with the men who came to visit them."

Tracey and Susan looked aghast while Daphne's expression was stony, the only indication that she was upset by the suddenly tragic story behind the flirtatious barmaid being the sadness and anger coursing through their connection.

"We should do something," she said.

"Daphne's right," Tracey added, looking between her, Harry, and Susan. "You three might not be stuck-up, but you are rich. Maybe you could –"

"No," Harry said.

"What do you mean?" Daphne demanded.

"Just because we're rich, doesn't mean we have the right to do anything like what you're thinking," Harry explained

"But she needs help!" Susan protested. "Of our three Houses, mine is the least wealthy, and it would still only be a drop in the bucket to give her some."

"So we should just lord our vast wealth over her? Not only would she never accept it, but I can't think of many things that would be more insulting."

"What are you talking about?" Tracey demanded. "You said yourself that she's not exactly enjoying her situation. Why shouldn't we help however we can?"

"I didn't say that we shouldn't help," Harry replied. "But the three of you have never been in a state where you have next to nothing. When you're struggling through circumstances like hers, the only thing that keeps you going is your pride. Your belief that you _will_ get yourself out of the current situation and claw your way up in the world. If we just gave her some sort of handout, it would just be a reminder that she wasn't good enough to make it on her own."

"So what _can_ we do, then?" Daphne asked dejectedly.

"I think I have an idea," Harry replied as Rosmerta came by with their orders.

"Here you are, dears," she said as she waved her wand and levitated their food before them. "Anything else I can get you?"

"Actually, there is," Harry replied. "I was wondering when you closed."

His nostrils flared at the sudden infusion of fear that filled the air, and he fought down the part of him that salivated at the sweet, musky scent.

"You really shouldn't be sneaking out of the castle after curfew just to see little old me, dear," Rosmerta said cheekily.

"Good thing I can come and go as I please, then," Harry countered, standing up and holding out his hand. "My students call me Professor Potter, though you can just call me Harry." Rosmerta's fear jumped even higher as she hesitantly reached out her hand for Harry to grab gently and press his lips to. He could sense it being tempered, though, by a hint of anger at the sight of three girls she knew to be students sitting right next to them. "My friends here were just telling me about this impressive establishment you've got, and I was hoping that I might be able to invest in it."

Rosmerta's fear was washed away by a fresh breeze of hope, and Harry couldn't help but smile as her eyes lit up. It was clear that she recognized his surname, as it was in the papers almost every day, so she knew that he had the money to back up his claims. Claiming three female teenagers had been the ones to peak his interest meant that she wouldn't approach his offer with as much distrust, as there was far less of a chance that he would be expecting something extra as well.

"O-Oh! W-well… in that case, I close at midnight Sunday to Thursday, and two on Fridays and Saturdays. But, I can always close up for an hour or two if you wanted to meet during the day."

"That's okay," Harry replied kindly. "I'd hate to interrupt your business. Why don't I come by tomorrow after closing? That way I can owl my financial manager, and we'll have time to look at your books."

Rosmerta beamed, and nodded happily before insisting that their meal be on the house. When they finished eating, Harry paid the bill anyway, and left a hefty tip as well before escorting Daphne outside where Tracey and Susan left them to resume their date.

"If I didn't believe you when you said you were almost a Slytherin before, I do now," Daphne said as they strolled along the road, arm in arm.

"You would have thought of something similar given the opportunity," Harry replied. "You three have the good fortune of having normal childhoods relative to my own."

"I guess I just figured that between the war and growing up in the same house as Cyrus, I thought that I wasn't so naïve," Daphne said slowly.

"You shouldn't be ashamed for keeping some of the innocence that people our age are supposed to have. Trust me, growing up too fast is nothing to be proud of."

Daphne smiled and pressed herself a little closer to his side as they moved towards lighter topics. Eventually, their wandering brought them in the direction of the Shrieking Shack. Just after they left the main road, Harry noticed that they were being followed and leaned down to whisper in Daphne's ear.

"We've got company."

Daphne didn't even nod, but the slight stiffening of her muscles told Harry she acknowledged what he had said.

"You sure you want to go near the Shrieking Shack?" She asked teasingly. "It's supposed to be the most haunted building in Britain. Who knows what we could wind up encountering."

"I'm confident you'd be able to defend us both," Harry replied sincerely. He had stretched his senses out enough to know that whoever was following them wasn't strong enough to be Death Eaters, and inferred that they must be students. If they did try anything, he would let Daphne handle them unless absolutely necessary.

"Taking your tramp out for a day on the town, Potter?" Harry fought down the angry roaring in his ears at the sound of Malfoy's ever-annoying drawl insulting _his_ Daphne, and discretely took a deep breath before turning in place.

Behind Malfoy were Crabbe and Goyle, as usual, along with Nott (who was still staring at Daphne in a way that made Harry want to tear his throat out), and several sixth and seventh year Slytherins. Harry couldn't identify all of them, but those he could shared last names with Death Eaters he had either faced or read about.

"You'd be wise not insult her like that again, Malfoy," he said slowly.

"Really? And just what are you going to do? Give me detention?" Malfoy asked tauntingly. "I took the liberty of brushing up on some of the school bylaws. You don't have any power outside school grounds."

"So you gathered all your little friends and decided to come and see me? How sweet," Harry drawled. "I'm touched that you would gather all of your little friends so that you would have the confidence to talk to me, Draco, but my broom flies straight, if you catch my meaning."

Malfoy's face burned crimson as he scowled angrily. "You think a filthy half-blood like you has the right to insult me?"

"Shut up, Draco," Daphne said coolly. "Do you really want to get cursed in front of so many witnesses? Tuck your tail between your legs and run off home to Daddy like you always do, so that we can get back to our business."

"Don't you dare speak to your betters like that, you little Blood Traitor whore!" Malfoy spat.

The earlier discussion regarding Madam Rosmerta must have made Daphne particularly on edge as her wand flew out and was pointed at Malfoy within seconds. Draco and his posse all raised theirs as soon as she started moving, and smirked as they pointed their wands at her and Harry.

"You really think you can take all of us at once, Greengrass? Even with your little Professor helping, we outnumber you more than ten-to-one."

"Oh, I won't be helping," Harry said casually, inspecting his fingernails. "But then again, neither will your friends either." There was a small pulse of magic and the snow around their feet melted before a sharp zap of electricity made everyone but Harry and Daphne yelp and jolt in pain – giving Harry more than enough time to summon his staff, immobilize, and disarm all of Malfoy's back up. "There we go, a nice fair match between you and Daphne. Isn't that better?" He asked innocently. "Unless, of course, you don't think that you could take her in a duel?"

Draco scowled angrily and, rather than reply, shouted and angrily threw a stunner at Daphne, who blocked it effortlessly. With the first spell cast, Harry settled back to watch as Daphne could now let loose without fear of repercussion. In less than a minute, she had Malfoy disarmed, tied up, and hanging upside down in midair while ferrets made of snow jumped up and down trying to claw his face.

Harry ignored him and released the other Slytherins the Body-Bind he had placed them under before tossing them their wands. "Now, you all can either take your little leader and leave, or you can all duel me. Keep in mind though, that not only have I already got my NEWTs, but I've gone toe-to-toe with your Dark Lord twice now, and still lived to tell the tale. Not only that, but you'd all do well to remember that those little rules stating I can't give you all detention when we aren't on school grounds, also means I don't have to refrain from sending you all to Madam Pomfrey in a matchbox either."

Grabbing onto the fire that was his dragon magic, Harry allowed it to pulse out and emphasize his point before the rest of the Slytherins wisely decided to grab Malfoy and run. He released the fire and sighed as it receded back inside him, idly noting how it was getting more difficult to detect where the usual pulsing warmth of his regular magic ended and the raging fire of his dragon magic began.

"Well, that was fun," Daphne concluded once they were alone again.

"Really?" Harry asked. "You looked a little bored, to be honest. Maybe I should have left a few of the others for you to handle as well."

"I don't think I would be able to handle more than one at a time," Daphne admitted. "Even with your classes, I don't have much experience fighting against more than one opponent."

"I'll have to remember to add that in," Harry said. "It's rare to fight a single Death Eater at any time. They always try to at least pair up, so that they can revive each other if they are hit with a Stunner."

Ever since Sirius had come on to properly teach Defence, Harry had not only cut back on the number of classes he taught per week, but been shifting his material as well. With Sirius handling their basic education, Harry had taken a focus on preparing the students for going out into a world embroiled in war. This still included practice fighting, and applying what they knew in different situations, but he had also added lessons involving stealth, and breaking Anti-Apparition and Anti-Portkey wards so as to escape from a dangerous situation as quick as possible.

"Now I wish I hadn't said anything," Daphne groaned. Having taken a page out of Griphook's book, Harry was ruthless when it came to physically training his students. The Wizarding World in general abhorred physical work, which was why Quidditch players were generally the only people in great shape, so he drilled his students into the ground with different battle scenarios that punished them harshly if they weren't on their feet and moving.

Harry chuckled and pulled Daphne closer to him, pressing a kiss against her temple. "Speaking of my classes, how's your project going?"

"Not too bad, now that I don't have to worry about falling behind the Weasley twins," Daphne replied. The twins had been particularly crestfallen when Harry had told them that they couldn't just use one of their many inventions for his assignment, and would need to at least come up with yet another one if they wanted it to be counted. He had also told them that he would be grading them harder than others, because he was well aware of their skills and intelligence. "I decided on trying my hand at spell crafting, so Professor Vector has been helping me with the Arithmancy involved."

"That's good to hear. Do I get a hint as to what it will do?"

Daphne grinned smugly and kissed him. "Nope."

Harry pouted until she giggled, and smiled happily. "I guess that's fair, considering how secretive I am about my own research."

"How are you handling Dumbledore and the Ministry's reaction to it?"

"Remus, Griphook, and Firenze are handling the Ministry," Harry said. "Dumbledore, though, has been strangely quiet since our little meeting at Grimmauld Place. Severus, Minerva, and I suspect he's more focused on the war at the moment, and is content to let this all blow up in my face. Especially when he learned that every teacher agreed to help, including Severus, whom most people are still convinced hates me with a passion."

They slowly made their way back to the school, where they retired to Harry's office for dinner, and were joined by Bella, Astoria, and Luna, the former two enjoying the opportunity to tease Harry and Daphne mercilessly while Luna watched with a dreamy smile on her face. It eventually got to a point where Bella was laughing so hard that she hiccoughed and shot out a tiny plume of flame, lighting the table on fire. Harry quickly put the fire out, and the focus of the discussion quickly turned to wondering what other abilities Bella had gained from the new body Harry, Zephyr, and Kyddris had gifted her.

"You have wings, why don't you try flying?" Astoria suggested after they had finished dinner.

"I don't think that'll work, Tori," Daphne said. "Her wings look way too small to lift her off the ground at the moment. Maybe when she's older."

" _The size of her wings doesn't matter,_ " Kyddris hissed.

"What did he say, Harry?" Daphne asked.

"Kyddris said that the size of the wings doesn't matter. What do you mean by that, Kyd?"

" _For the most part, a dragon flies using his fire,"_ Kyddris explained. _"He channels it to his wings and they produce the necessary wind magic to take flight."_

Harry translated what Kyddris had said to the others, and Bella frowned in confusion. "How do I breathe fire to my wings to make wind?"

"He doesn't mean the fire that you breathe, Bella," Harry explained. "He means your magic. He calls it fire, because dragon magic feels like a fire when you feel for it. When you're a bit older, I'll teach you how to find your own as well."

Bella smiled and hugged him tightly while Luna cocked her head to the side. "You said for the most part, that's how dragons fly. What did you mean by that?"

"Well, aren't there dragons in the far east that don't have wings?" Daphne asked. "They can still fly, though, so they must channel their magic differently."

 _You might as well just tell them,_ Zephyr said from his perch. _There's nothing to be ashamed of._

 _"Easy for you to say,"_ Kyddris hissed. _"Your kind make thunder with a flap of the wings."_

 _"Kyddris, what aren't you telling me?"_ Harry asked.

Harry didn't think he would ever have imagined a dragon looking uncomfortable, but Kyddris somehow pulled it off as his head which was as long as Harry was tall shook side to side and his ruby red eyes refused to look at him while Daphne ushered the other three into another room that the office had provided for them.

 _"I may have been using our magic to modify my body a bit when I'm concealed as a tattoo."_

 _"Kyddris, that sounds extremely dangerous,"_ Harry hissed softly. _"Why even keep this from me in the first place?"_

 _"Because I'm a dragon!"_ Kyddris roared. _"We are supposed to be like kings! Mightier than any other beast that would dare challenge us, and more magnificent than any other creature could hope! We are born with an unshakeable sense of pride in who we are, and yet all I see when I look inwards is imperfection!"_

 _"Kyd, you can't just change your body in the search of perfection,"_ Harry said. _"Not only will you never find it, but that's how you start falling down the same road Riddle took."_

 _"We dragons have a much different concept of perfection, Harry,"_ Kyddris replied. _"Perfection, to a dragon, means to have fully mastered oneself. We are born with certain knowledge, including what we should be physically aspire to be. It motivates hatchlings to better themselves in the search of it. But when I saw what I was supposed to grow into, I was unhappy. Your memories of when you were researching how to best care for me when I hatched say that my species are supposed to be the largest dragon on this earth, and that filled me with pride and happiness that the one who I had been waiting in that vault to hatch for, the one whose soul I share, would have the largest and mightiest of beasts standing by his side."_

 _"But that's not what you saw when you envisioned what your kind look like as adults, was it?"_ Harry asked quietly.

 _"What I saw should hardly be considered my kind!"_ Kyddris roared, his chest lighting up with the fires of his rage. _"I saw nothing more than a sloth with scales! Sleeping lazily upon a mountain of unearned gold! I saw myself roll over as the smaller females came to feed me, before mounting me! That…_ thing _even allowed the females to dominate him! And I'm supposed to feel pride in that being my future?!"_

Harry's heart broke as he thought about how long Kyddris must have been holding all of this in. He reached out and placed a hand on the side of his closest companion's snout and rested his forehead against it so that he could look up into his eyes.

 _"So you modified yourself? How?"_

 _"While I'm concealed on your skin, I discovered that our magic combines and becomes much more receptive to our wills. It was how I knew you had dragon magic to counter that Fiendfyre during your second mission for the Circle. At first it was just small things: toughening my claws and teeth, hardening my scales, that sort of thing. But then, during your fight with that mother last year, I noticed how much of her fire she used just to keep herself aloft, so I started willing our fire to direct how I grew. I sacrificed my bulk in exchange for these."_

Harry's office grew explosively to make room for Kyddris as he rose to his full height and properly unfurled his wings. The only other times Harry had really seen him do this he had always been preoccupied with fighting for his life, and thus had no time to properly observe the creature he thought of as closer than a brother. When fully stretched out, Harry guessed that Kyddris was probably around forty feet from tip to tail, with the shoulders of his front legs already standing about eight feet high. His scales sparkled a magnificent silver colour, which Harry was now noticing was almost identical to the silver wood that made up the main shaft of his staff – as opposed to the iron grey from which Ukrainian Ironbellies got their name. The spikes running down his back reminded Harry of the dorsal fin of shark, and curved to a wicked point. Near the end of his tail were a set of thin, blade-like spikes that sprouted out of either side, and looked capable of sheering steel with little effort. What truly amazed him, though, were Kyddris' wings.

It was clear what Kyddris meant when he said that he had exchanged much of his bulk for what Harry was seeing now, and made sense why he rarely unfurled them if not flying. Fully outstretched, Kyddris' wings were nearly two hundred feet from tip to tip. The muscles of the wings were thick and corded beneath his scales, while the thin membrane looked more like it was made from tough leather than the thin bat-like flesh Harry remembered the Horntail having. Kyddris flexed his wings slightly, and Harry was hit with a gust of wind that rippled his clothes.

 _"They're huge!"_ Harry hissed softly in amazement, reaching out to run his fingers along the soft skin of one of his wings. _"I still don't see why you saw fit to keep this from me, though."_

 _You must understand, Young One, that dragons are not fond of what is different, or new,_ Zephyr explained as Kyddris folded his wings back in and curled up so that Harry's office could shrink down to its usual size. _They are born with a sense of pride greater than any human. Were it not for the unique bond you two share, Kyddris would be endeavor to become exactly as his vision showed him. You allowed him to be elevated intellectually at a much younger age than most intelligent beasts, and he was able to see that the future he envisioned was not one that he desired. Unfortunately, there was still a part of him that said what he was doing was wrong._

 _"I never meant to keep it from you,"_ Kyddris admitted. " _But it's hard to shake off the shame sometimes, though I've been working on it. With Zephyr's help, of course."_

 _"What do you mean?"_ Harry asked.

 _"The first change I made was to my body,"_ Kyddris explained. _"I exchanged the bulk that I was destined to grow for wings that could carry me without the use of my fire. I'm not as warm during winters, but with you, that's not really an issue, as I can always retreat to my tattooed form. Once my wings were done, I set to work, with Zephyr's guidance, to use our fire to modify my mind so that I could be more than just some beast you set loose on your enemies."_

 _"You know I would never think of you like that,"_ Harry reassured him. _"We're familiars. Partners. You're not some pet or attack dog."_

 _"I know,"_ Kyddris replied. _"But I am still a beast, and you, of all people, should know how hard instincts are to control at times. That's why Zephyr, who's been around longer even then that fiery songbird Dumbledore keeps pent up in his office, has been helping to guide me in using our fire to modify my instincts, just slightly."_

 _"There's more to this than just helping me with the war,"_ Harry said suspiciously. _"Kyd, whatever it is that's on your mind, you can talk to me."_

Kyddris shifted in place, and looked away from Harry. _"I want to save them from themselves,"_ he hissed quietly.

 _"Help who?"_ Harry asked.

 _"The dragons,"_ Kyddris explained heatedly. _"I think back to those nesting mothers that were dragged here against their will, and it fills me with rage! There is a great desire to burn everything around me to the ground when I think of how far my kind has fallen! I've seen your memories, I know that they come from some far off country, and that they are treated like extremely dangerous cattle! How can I be proud of my kind when they allow themselves to be treated that way? How can I be proud to be a member of a species that has reduced itself to nothing more than beasts? Who don't even defend their own nesting mothers?!"_

 _"You want to start your own clan,"_ Harry surmised. Kyddris didn't reply other than to growl in acknowledgement, and he smiled. _"Kyddris, I swear to you, just as you have helped me more than I could possibly imagine, I will do everything in my power to help you as well. There will come a time where we won't have to worry about Dark Lords and scheming Headmasters, and we can build a place where the dragons can grow to return to their former glory."_

 _"Thank you, Harry,"_ Kyddris hissed softly. _"It warms my heart to know that I have a familiar as kind as you."_

After that, Harry called Daphne, Bella, Luna, and Astoria back into the room and explained what was going on. All four of the gazed in awe as Kyddris stood and revealed his entire form to them, and Harry couldn't help but smile as his familiar preened under their attention. Bella constantly asked questions about Kyddris' wings, seemingly trying to learn everything she could about flight in one night while Luna once again had her head cocked to the side thoughtfully.

"Why don't you stretch out more?" She asked.

"Luna, I dunno if you noticed, but Kyddris is massive," Astoria said. "There isn't really any room for him to."

"Then why not just shrink him?"

Harry paused as he considered what she suggested. "It's not impossible," he muttered. "If I got that Notice-Me-Not Charm to work on him, then it would stand to reason that a Shrinking Charm performed using dragon magic and Parseltongue would probably work. What do you think, buddy? Wanna try it out?"

Kyddris seemed to consider it for a minute or two before lowering his head and hunching his shoulders in the dragon equivalent of a shrug. Summoning his staff, Harry conjured a series of birds in ever increasing size and practiced shrinking them all, until he was confident he could shrink Kyddris without taking away his ability to fly. He then vanished the birds, turned to his familiar, and closed his eyes. He reached into his fire, and began hissing the incantation while imagining Kyddris shrinking. The gasps he heard indicated that he had succeeded, and he opened his eyes to see Kyddris had shrunk down from his normal gargantuan forty-foot length to about ten feet. His shoulders were now about two feet off the ground, and his wings had shrunk down to being about half their original length. Harry guessed that his weight had probably been reduced to about a single ton, based off how much he had weighed when he was this size the first time around.

Kyddris looked around the room, and stretched happily as he realized that he didn't have to crawl around anymore.

"There," Harry announced. "It will only take me a quick _finite_ to reverse it, or you just need to flex your fire hard enough. I have my doubts about it lasting after you've returned to my skin, but it shouldn't be too hard for me to develop an array for you that will give you control over it."

Kyddris thanked him and immediately headed to the balcony near Harry's desk, nudging open the doors before leaping off the edge so that he could fly around in the cover of night.

Eventually, he returned, and Harry sent Astoria and Luna back to their common rooms, while Bella decided to stay in another room that the office had provided for her. Harry called for Tipsy to relay a message to his mother, letting her know Bella would be staying with him, and inviting her over the next day before, finally, retiring to bed.


	39. Chapter 39

Lily had declined the invitation to come see them, stating that she was working on something with Remus, so Harry spent most of Sunday in his office with his friends, who all were impressed with the newly shrunken Kyddris. It seemed that he hadn't been the only one that hadn't been able to properly notice the changes Kyddris had made to himself due to his size and always being curled up when not fighting. It made Harry smile to feel Kyddris start to take pride in his new form, as opposed to simply not feeling shame, and he couldn't help but feel closer with his familiar on a fundamental level after their discussion the previous day. It had been eye-opening to be reminded that Kyddris was capable of feeling things like insecurity as well. Unlike Rosie, who was still very much a dog at heart, despite being magical and bound to Daphne, Kyddris was more complex by nature.

He never got the chance to visit Rosmerta, as Griphook and Ragnok were preoccupied with the hunt for the remaining Horcruxes, but he did have a letter sent to her from Gringotts explaining that they were busy with higher priority business, and he allowed her to believe that the delays were due mostly to the capriciousness of goblins. The next few weeks passed in a blur as Harry's own workload increased with that of the students. He found himself taking on more and more responsibilities with the younger years so that the professors could be freed up to focus on the upcoming OWL and NEWT exams. He was happy to help, but he couldn't help but start to get sick of all the essays he had to read. Sirius, in particular, enjoyed shoving his work off to Harry, for no other reason than to watch his godson suffer. Additionally, Hagrid had woken up near the end of the month, and while he had been forbidden by Dumbledore to share what had happened to him and Madame Maxime, it didn't take a huge leap in logic to assume that their meeting with the giants went about as poorly as Newt had predicted. Confident that either Minerva or Severus would tell him the details if Dumbledore deemed them important enough to be shared with either of them, Harry was able to focus what little free time he had on keeping his first friend company in his hut and delivering potions that Poppy and Severus would send down to help his recovery.

All of that came to a screeching halt, though, when he was working in his office after dinner in the middle of March. He had just finished off marking a set of third year Runes essays, and had stood up to walk around and see how the students were doing before heading down to visit Hagrid when a silvery-white ball of light burst through the wall behind his desk and came to a stop in front of him before reforming into a familiar-looking wolf.

" _Diagon Alley. Outnumbered. Bring Sirius._ " Remus' voice cut through the air and filled his office with tense silence.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to close up shop early tonight," Harry announced, reaching his hand out and summoning his Firebolt from his private quarters. "You don't have to go back to your common rooms, but you can't stay here. Greengrass, go tell Professor Black what's happened and where I've gone."

In an instant, Blaise, Neville, Susan, and Tracey were directing students out of his office and offering reassurances where they could while Daphne sprinted out the door to find Sirius. Once Harry was alone in his office once more, he sent the broom back to his room, grabbed some Floo powder and warped himself to the Leaky Cauldron, quickly Apparating as soon as he arrived to reappear right next to Remus, who was crouched behind the wall of _Flourish and Blotts._ People were running frantically as they tried to escape the spell fire coming from the ten Death Eaters stationed on either end of the Alley, while fires burned from several destroyed storefronts and glass littered the street. Harry had apparently just made it in time, as he felt the Anti-Apparition wards go up, leaving him, Remus, and what looked like three other Order members to fight twenty Death Eaters.

"Good, you made it," Remus said tiredly. The full moon had only been a couple days ago, and Harry could tell that Remus was still recovering from it. There was a crack as Dobby appeared with Sirius before bowing and disappearing once more, and the three of them crouched together as the screams increased in volume.

"We need to avoid civilian collateral," Sirius said. "There's no room for full blown dueling."

"Stun and banish them to get them out of the line of fire," Harry ordered. "Remus, you help the Order with handling the ones near Gringotts. I'll conjure a wall when you get close enough so that you can use the entire square in front of the bank without worrying about the street behind you. Sirius and I are the freshest, so we'll handle the other half until you can come back us up."

Remus nodded and Harry summoned his staff as he watched him run towards the Death Eaters near Gringotts, stunning and banishing people away from the fight along the way. Once he was close enough, Harry waved his hand through the air and a massive brick wall rose from the cobblestone, separating Remus, the members of the Order, and the Death Eaters from the rest of the street. With that done, he and Sirius dove out of cover, stunning and banishing anyone in their way as well as they sprinted towards the other group of Death Eaters near the entrance to the alley.

Once they had a clear shot, Sirius opened with a powerful Blasting Hex that tore up the ground between the Death Eaters and sent most of them flying to the ground, allowing for Harry to follow up by summoning sword and firing a Cutting Curse that took the hand off one of the Death Eaters still standing. Rather than stop running, he slid under the Cruciatus Curse coming from another and sliced open his leg with the blade of his sword, leaving the man to succumb to the powerful toxins imbued in the goblin-wrought silver. He threw up a shield as one of the Death Eaters tried to hit Sirius in the flank while he dueled with another, and grunted as an Arrow-Shooting Spell caught him in the right side, grazing his ribs. Once again, he felt his staff change to the same form it had taken during the battle at Azkaban, and Harry grinned as he spun out of the way of a nasty looking jet of purple light and swept it along the ground to hook the ankles of another Death Eater, who quickly fell to a Cutting Curse to the throat from Sirius before he returned to dueling one of the Death Eaters who had regained his footing.

Their opponents were starting to regroup, so Harry slashed his sword through the air and transfigured a snake out of the fiery rope that one of the Death Eaters had tried to hit them with. Sirius took a defensive position in front of him while he directed the chain into the ground. Moments later, it burst from the ground, wrapping around the legs of three of their enemies before being transfigured once more into a thick metal cable that Harry charged it with as much electricity as he could muster, making it start to glow, burning the men as it electrocuted them, and filling the air with the smell of burnt flesh.

Sirius took advantage of their opponents' shock at the gruesome end three of their own had fallen to, and managed to slam yet another in the chest with a Reductor, destroying it in a vibrant splash of red that seemed to scare the others into making use of their emergency Portkeys as they immediately vanished. There was no time to celebrate, however, as an explosion destroyed the wall Harry had conjured on the other end of the street. In a flash, Nightfire and Padfoot were sprinting towards the second battle, where Remus and the Order members were being pinned down by the remaining Death Eaters while Kyddris took to the sky.

With a roar, Nightfire leapt through the air, shrugging off the spell fire being directed at him, while Padfoot discretely changed back and went about helping the humans. Nightfire landed on one of the Death Eaters, crushing his sternum, and lunged forward, grabbing another between his jaws and swiping a third and fourth with his claws and scaled tail respectively. Roaring in anger at the fools who would dare to attack his pack-mate, Nightfire released a jet of fire that roasted a fifth and leapt towards the humans to shield them once Kyddris told him he was ready.

Shifting back to his human form, Harry conjured another wall around himself, Remus, Sirius, and the Order members, whom he now identified as Tonks, Kingsley, and a thin, willowy woman that Harry remembered from the meeting at Grimmauld Place.

"Harry?!" Tonks shouted. "What are you –"

She was interrupted as Kyddris released a roar that shook the ground beneath their feat, and doused the open area between Gringotts and the rest of Diagon Alley in a tidal wave of flame, incinerating the remaining Death Eaters. When the last of the flames had died down, Harry vanished the wall and sent a mental thanks to Kyddris as he swooped higher into the night sky.

"Are you mad?!" The thin woman shouted. "You could have killed us all with that little stun you just pulled!"

"By stunt, Emeline, do you mean saving all of your lives?" Sirius asked as he and Remus worked on dispelling the Anti-Apparition wards.

The wards fell, and there was an immediate series of pops as Dumbledore, Minerva, Mr. Weasley, Bill, Charlie, Amelia, and a handful of Aurors appeared down the street.

"Merlin's beard!" Minerva exclaimed, covering her nose. "What happened here?"

"I think I'd like to know that as well," Amelia said sharply. "By the time I was informed of the attack on Diagon Alley, the wards were already up, and the Minister had declared the Floo networks be shut down."

"What happened is Potter and Black attacked innocent civilians before murdering several people, ma'am," Kingsley said.

"Lord Potter, Lord Black, is this true?" Amelia asked.

"It's true that we did hit several civilians with Stunners and Banishing Spells, Lady Bones," Sirius replied while Harry silenced Remus with a look. "We thought it safer if they weren't contributing to the chaos, and would provide them with a chance to be passed over by the Death Eaters as opposed to being caught in the crossfire."

"And the claims by Auror Shacklebolt that you both have committed murder?"

"I don't deny we killed," Sirius replied. "But to call it murder is questionable."

"This is neither the time nor place for arguing semantics," Dumbledore said sternly. "The fact remains that you killed without a hint of remorse, and should be taken in for questioning."

"That's not for you to decide, Dumbledore," Amelia snapped. "If anyone should be brought in, it's you and your little secret society."

Dumbledore's eyes widened, but Amelia had already turned back to Harry and Sirius. "It would be greatly appreciated if you both could come in at your nearest convenience to give your statements about what happened here."

"You can't be serious!" Emeline shouted.

"No, that would be me," Sirius sad with a wry grin before grunting as both Harry and Remus elbowed him while Amelia swatted his head.

"They slaughtered and maimed people, and you're just letting them go?!" Kingsley exclaimed.

"Technically, Sirius only killed one of them," Harry said nonchalantly. "The maiming bit was me as well, assuming we're talking about the bloke missing a hand down the street."

"You think this is funny?!" Kingsley shouted.

"I think that I just saved your lives – again, I might add – and you're showing your gratitude by subjecting me and my godfather to an interrogation without having even pressed charges."

"How about reckless endangerment, and possession of a dangerous magical beast?"

"There are laws protecting wizards from being separated from their familiars," Harry replied coolly. "Nothing Kyddris did is irreparable, and he did it in defence of me and five others. One of whom was you, Auror Shacklebolt. Now, Madam Bones, if that is all, I would like to return to my post at Hogwarts."

Amelia nodded, and Dumbledore looked like he wanted to say something, but he never got the chance, as Kyddris swooped in with a mighty roar, snatching Harry up with his clawed foot and easily helping him onto his back before flapping his wings and ascending with hurricane-like winds in his wake.

*(OoO)*

Daphne was curled up on a couch in front of the fire in Harry's office with Rosie, reading one of the many books on Healing from Harry's vast collection through his grimoire, when a distant whooshing alerted her that Harry was on his way back. The entire back wall of his office vanished, revealing a massive balcony while still protecting Daphne from the elements as she watched Kyddris approach. His massive, two hundred foot wingspan made it quite easy to see him from a distance – especially when the light of the moon was reflecting off his scales so brilliantly. When he landed with far more grace than a creature weighing in at four tons should have, he crouched slightly, allowing for Harry to hop off his back and onto the ground. His robes were in tatters and his shirt underneath was blood-soaked and charred around a nasty looking burn on his right side.

"All things considered, you don't look nearly as shitty as you have in the past," she teased.

"Damn, Sunshine, don't pull any punches for my sake," he replied as he walked over and gave her a kiss before turning to the full-length mirror that had appeared beside him to inspect his injury. "Dumbledore and the Order were their usual insufferable selves, so I wanted to get some flying in with Kyd to clear both our heads. Had to cauterize this though, so that I didn't bleed all over his scales."

Daphne sighed and used some light Severing Charms to help him out of the remains of his shirt before setting to work picking the melted bits of fabric out of his flesh. He had clearly used magical fire to cauterize his wound, so she couldn't risk adding the magical signature of a Vanishing Spell to the wound as well before getting to work healing it. While she worked, Harry relayed the details of the skirmish with the Death Eaters, and the poor reactions his and Sirius' actions had elicited from everyone but Amelia, Remus, and Minerva. Daphne shook her head and silently wondered how so many people could cling to their moral superiority, when, in many cases, this wasn't even their first war. Were people so afraid of the Dark so great that they would rather risk themselves and those around them than do what needed to be done?

Shaking her head of those thoughts before they spiralled down a deeply philosophical path that she most certainly would bring up with Harry, if not her mother, Sirius, Remus, and Lily, later, she focused back on the task of mending Harry's burns. She noticed that they seemed closer to the examples of burns from dragon fire, as opposed to regular magical flames, and had to stop herself from getting off task once more with questions of where Harry's human magic stopped and his dragon magic began. Throughout the entire process, Harry remained strangely silent – staring thoughtfully at his reflection.

Daphne had alleviated most of the pain, and was seeing if she could do anything about the scarring when he moved and broke her concentration. She looked up and watched as he raised his hand to touch his reflection, before bringing it to his face and pushing the bangs above his right eye aside so that he could stare at the faint lightning bolt shaped scar that had been the turning point for his life becoming what it was today. Daphne didn't say a word or move a muscle, but raised her Occlumency barriers so that she could feel his emotions.

His fingertip traced the thin scar on his forehead, and she felt anger, guilt, and sadness flowing off him as he examined it. These emotions weren't so much strong, as… _rooted._ They didn't control him, or even seemingly affect him in any way, but they still seemed to stubbornly remain in the back of his heart even after sixteen years. Slowly, though, Daphne felt the emotions fade away, and be replaced first with resignation, and then acceptance. His hand dropped, and he then turned his attention to the many small scars that littered his torso, turning around in place as he ran his fingers over each and every one – even going so far as to vanish his pants (his boxers remained, though, and part of Daphne that seemed completely unwilling to read the room couldn't help but wonder if it was fortunate or not) with a wave of his hand to stroke the few that covered his thighs.

Daphne felt the next emotions coursing through the connection and was reminded of when Cyrus would use Stinging Hexes and such to punish her. There was the fear that only a child who had been hurt by the one that was supposed to keep them safe felt, as well as the loneliness that came with realizing that no one was coming to save them, followed by the pain of self-degradation as the conclusion was reached that there must have been something wrong with the child to deserve such horrible treatment. These sensations were followed by a hot wash of shame as Harry twisted and ran his fingers along the scars on his back, then righteous fury as his thoughts undoubtedly turned to the monsters who had inflicted them upon him. Harry's breathing even increased as the unbridled rage poured through him, threatening to choke Daphne with its raw intensity. It took several minutes before his anger finally started to relent, and the first hints of something powerful flickered in the depths of their connection. Finished with the signs of his abusive childhood, Harry turned his gaze to the large, coin-sized scar on his right arm, where the basilisk fang had pierced him. There were traces of guilt, as he most likely thought about the millions of things he could have done better, but in time, they too faded, and the strange new emotion strengthened slightly as he took a deep breath and let go of his guilt. With that done, Harry raised his hands back up to his face and the long, jagged scar that stretched from just near his left temple, under his eye, and across his upper lip to the right corner of his mouth as well as the three trailing diagonally across his chest from shoulder to hip.

This time, he felt a heavy sorrow, and Daphne presumed he was thinking about the poor creature that had been driven to madness for the sake of amusing a bunch of wizards. His hands drifted from the claw marks to the other scars he had amassed since then from his numerous battles, but they always returned to those four cicatrices. Daphne remembered what Harry had told her about Kyddris' desire to form his own clan of dragons. To return his species to being more than just novelties to add credence to children's stories, and she found herself excited to help them both pursue a goal that didn't have to do with this war that he had found himself caught in.

The sorrow didn't fade, but it was tempered as Harry tore his eyes away and examined his body fully from top to toe. With one final deep breath, she watched as he looked into his own eyes, and suddenly, every last trace of shame tied to his disfigurements vanished. In its place was pride. She could tell from the fire burning in his eyes, that he no longer regarded himself as something ugly and pitiable. She could feel the pride of a warrior burning through their connection. Of a great beast who wore its scars proudly as a testament to the trials it had surpassed. With this pride, came the new emotion that had been building in Harry this whole time stronger than ever, and Daphne could now recognize it as hope.

It was rare to hear Harry talk about the future after the war was finished. Daphne knew that he didn't really allow himself to think about those kinds of things, and it was only when she would mention things about the Wizarding World that she wanted to change that he would offer promises to be by her side through it all. There would always be a similar spark in his eyes during those moments, but it would always fade and she could tell that he didn't completely believe himself. Now, though, after having apparently shed the many of his lingering demons, Harry seemed to be properly allowing himself to hope and plan for a future off the battlefield.

Turning around, she mirrored his grin as he pulled her to his feet and kissed her until her head was spinning from lack of air. Pulling back, he smirked wickedly, and Daphne felt her knees weaken slightly.

"What are you thinking?" She asked.

Rather than reply, Harry simply grinned wider and lowered himself to kiss her once more.


	40. Chapter 40

The good mood didn't last, however, as by the end of the week, the _Prophet_ had found its newest angle with which to slander Harry; playing up how violent he was and sowing fear with hyperbolized descriptions of how he summoned a hundred foot long dragon to lay waste to Diagon Alley, and that it was only thanks to the Aurors that the entire alley hadn't been reduced to ash.

"Well, it didn't take very long for that favor you garnered from your sojourn to Azkaban to wither away, now did it?" Newt asked as he stood with Harry, Hagrid, and Wilhelmina outside of Hagrid's hut.

"How long do you think it'll take before I'm declared the next Dark Lord?" Harry asked sardonically as he watched the first class of the day make its way down to them.

"I give it 'til the end of the year, tops," Wilhelmina grunted before she walked forward to greet the class, Hagrid limping behind her.

Harry was spared the cautious glances, though, when Hedwig flew down and landed on his shoulder with a letter for him. Untying it from her leg, he took one look at the Gringotts emblem on the seal and stashed it in his robes, knowing that inside the envelope was an item that was charmed to tell Griphook and Ragnok that it was clear to come over. He joined Newt as they made their way into the Forbidden Forest, and put the letter out of his mind as he turned his attention to what Newt was saying about some of the different creatures he had encountered over his youth.

After lunch, he went to the dungeons to help Severus with his Potions classes and work on some of his own research for his Mastery. The first two classes passed with only minor incidents, and Harry managed to inform Severus of the letter he had received as well. The last class of the day was a double-length with the fifth year Slytherins and Gryffindors, and Harry prepared himself for the worst, as was the norm when those two groups were together. They were working on the second stage of their Strengthening Solutions, and Harry decided to pack up his own studies and wander around the class, in case anything happened.

He paused in front of Daphne as she was staring at the small cut she had made on her salamander and watched curiously as she raised her fingers to examine the bright droplets of blood running down the back of her hand. There was a look in her eye that Harry had never seen before, but he easily recognized what she was feeling through their connection as the all-consuming hunger of someone who had been denied sustenance for too long, and was finally being presented food. He cleared his throat and Daphne suddenly snapped back to attention, her hand less than a foot from her mouth, and turned to face him.

"If you're uncomfortable about bleeding your salamander, there's no shame in asking your neighbour to help," he said in his best helpful-professor tone, while using their bond to convey his worry.

Daphne smiled tightly and mouthed ' _later_ ' before thanking him for the advice and turning to ask Tracey for help. Harry nodded and continued his rounds, offering tips here and there. He was just finishing up on instructing Neville on how to salvage his potion, assigning him a short essay on what he did wrong and how the steps they had taken to get his potion back on track worked with an apologetic look on his face that Neville simply waved off, when he noticed a trickle of magic coming from behind him, and turned to see Hermione with her wand out by her thigh, muttering under her breath. He didn't comment and continued walking as he tried to figure out what it was she was doing, and returned to his desk to see if he could detect, at least, what she was directing her magic towards.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Harry took a deep breath and focused on the feeling of the magic trickling out of Hermione's wand while she seemingly focused on her potion. He followed the trail that had appeared in his mind's eye and superimposed itself over his vision, and found her to be casting something on Daphne's bag. Scratching out a warning on a slip of parchment, Harry covertly conjured a similar piece on Daphne's desk, and quietly used a Switching Spell to deliver the note without anyone noticing. He vanished the parchment, and started quietly casting as many subtle protections around Daphne as he could for the rest of the class. By the time the bell rang, Hogwarts could have collapsed to the ground, and Daphne would probably still be standing. He waited as Severus assigned essays to multiple people on how to properly brew Strengthening Solutions, groaning internally, as that probably meant he'd have more marking to do for the younger years as well, before following Daphne out the door and towards a secluded corner where they had Rosie transport them to his office.

As soon as they arrived, Daphne tossed her bag on the floor where Harry conjured a thick metal box around it, and growled angrily. "I can't believe she would try cursing me like that!"

"We don't know that she was," Harry replied calmly. "Hermione's a lot of things, but I don't think she's capable of something like that."

"You didn't think she was capable of trying to spy on you, either," Daphne snapped, before freezing as she realized what she had just said and gasping. "Harry, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that."

"Sunshine, are you okay?" Harry asked. "You're normally far more composed than this. Does it have to do with what you were about to do in the classroom earlier?"

Daphne's eyes narrowed momentarily before she closed them and took a deep breath, moving past the instinctual urge to avoid talking about herself. "I don't know what's going on," she whispered, and Harry hadn't even registered that he had moved before his arms wrapped around her and held her close to his chest, tucking her head under his chin and pressing her ear over his heart. "I keep having these moments where I feel… wrong. Like I'm wearing someone else's skin. And just today, with the… with the blood. I got a little bit on my hand, and it was like I was finally myself, but at the same time, it felt like I was in a fog or something. I wanted… I _needed_ to do something, but I just didn't know what!"

Harry channeled a little bit of his magic through his hands as he held her and stroked her back and hair until she relaxed and her panicked breathing had slowed down to a crawl before quietly calling out for Tipsy.

"How can I be of service, Master?" Tipsy asked as she appeared right in front of him.

"Bring my mum and Lady Greengrass here, please," Harry ordered. "Reassure them that no one is hurt, but it is urgent that we see them right away."

Tipsy nodded and bowed before disappearing with a pop. Harry had just led Daphne over to a couch in front of the fireplace. Rosie materialized before them and lumbered over to rest her head on Daphne's lap while Kyddris stood up on the massive balcony that he had taken to stretching out on, and, using the array that Harry had devised and inscribed on one of his scales, shrunk himself down so he could walk over. He curled around them as the room replaced the couch with an assortment of plush cushions so that they could lean against his warm underside.

Tipsy reappeared with both of their mothers in tow, bowed, and vanished again just as Zephyr and Hedwig both flew over to land on Harry's shoulders and lean forward to nuzzle against Daphne as she reclined between Harry's legs.

"Harry?" Lily asked. "What was it that you needed us for?"

"Do you want me to tell them?" Harry asked Daphne quietly. She didn't reply other than to nod her head and he squeezed her gently, channeling a bit more magic into her and willing it to comfort her. He turned back to the other two as they both sat down in front of them. "Daphne hasn't been feeling… herself lately. She told me she didn't feel comfortable in her own skin, and earlier today she got some blood on her hand and seemed to go into a sort of trance before trying to lick it up. She told me that you, Penelope, put a strong concealment charm on her as a child to hide her nature, so I called you and my Mum, who's a Charms Mistress to have a look and see if something had gone wrong with it."

Penelope leaned forward and cupped her daughter's cheeks, tears in her eyes as she planted a kiss on Daphne's forehead. "Daphne, sweetheart, I'm so sorry you're going through all this. I only ever meant to protect you, not make you suffer like this."

"It's okay, Mum," Daphne murmured. "You did what you thought was best for me. I can't fault you for that."

Penelope smiled and kissed Daphne's forehead once more before standing next to Lily.

"Now this makes me feel nostalgic," Lily said with a smile as both she and Penelope pulled their wands out of the sleeves of their robes. "Reminds me of those times we'd work together in school to undo one of James' pranks."

"You two knew each other in school?" Harry asked.

"We did," Lily replied. "I did have more friends than just Severus before your father and I got together, you know. In fact, besides the Marauders, James wasn't terribly close with many other people."

"Your mother and I were quite close," Penelope explained. "In fact, I was among her top choices to be your godmother."

"Really?" Harry asked, as Lily leaned down and started waving her wand over Daphne.

"That's right," she said, a sad smile on her face. "She was one of my best friends in Hogwarts, along with Alice Longbottom. The choice was between the two of them, as well as Minerva."

"I can understand Lady Longbottom," Daphne said. "But why Professor McGonagall?"

"It was a well-known fact that James and Lily were Minerva's favourite students," Penelope said. "Back then, she and her husband had a cottage in Hogsmeade, and there were a few of us who visited quite often after graduation."

"I didn't know Minerva was married," Harry said in amazement. "If they live in Hogsmeade, how come I've never heard anyone talk about him?"

"Because he died about ten years ago," Penelope replied. "She was already a rather private person before, so when Elphinstone died, she pretty just stopped talking about her past and her personal life was pretty much swallowed up by her work."

Harry was about to ask more about his mother's past and her friends, when Lily paused and furrowed her brow. "That's strange," she muttered.

"What is?" Penelope asked, and Harry could detect a hint of tension in her voice.

"This concealment charm you placed on Daphne, it reminds me of some of the stuff you and I used to work on."

"Well, Mum was one of the people who cast it," Daphne reasoned. "So it shouldn't be surprising that her magical signature is there."

"She's not talking about my magical signature, dear," Penelope corrected. "The spell was cast on you before you were even born, it would be impossible to detect the magical signature of the caster. What Lily means is she recognizes my technique when it comes to spell casting." The tension in her seemed to increase, and Harry watched as Penelope watched his mother expectantly. Maybe even hopefully.

"In fact, the way this charm is keyed to someone is pretty much identical to how I would do it," Lily observed as she continued waving her wand, the tiny streams of magic flowing between her and Daphne making the hair on Harry's arms stand up. "In fact, it's _exactly_ the same. So is the memory modifier tied to the key."

"Mum," Daphne asked carefully. "When you said that you had a good friend help you, who agreed to be Obliviated –"

"Pen, did I help you cast this charm?" Lily interrupted bluntly.

Penelope seemed to deflate slightly as she released a huge sigh of relief. "Oh, thank Merlin!" She exclaimed. "It took you long enough to figure it out!"

"Why didn't you just tell me?" Lily demanded. "This would be a lot easier if I knew from the start that I was diagnosing one of my own charms!"

"Because, you made me swear to secrecy!" Penelope retorted. "The charm was keyed to you, and since you were Obliviated, I was the only one who knew. There wasn't supposed to even be a possibility of the charm weakening until Daphne turned seventeen and her core started to mature, and by then she'd be free of Cyrus."

"Oi!" Harry said sternly. "You can argue about this after you tell us what's going on with Daphne."

Lily sighed and turned back to them. "The charm works based off of perception," she explained. "So long as everyone thought you were human, you would present as such."

"I had planned to tell you after you were seventeen," Penelope continued. "So, we didn't account for you finding out on your own, and how your own perception of yourself would affect the charm."

"So because I know I'm not human, the charm is not making me seem human anymore?" Daphne asked.

"That's about the gist of it. We placed a key word in Lily's subconscious that she can say that will completely undo the charm. We placed it so that, after I told you, you could decide whether you wanted it removed, or – in the case of it weakening from the maturation of core – have it recast on you."

"Why didn't you make that offer after you told me in the first place?"

"Because I still wanted to wait until you were seventeen, and had sworn I wouldn't let anyone know about Lily's involvement until you were seventeen, or on the impossible chance that I ever saw your birth father again." Penelope sighed and looked down in guilt. "I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am, Daphne."

Harry loosened his hold on Daphne so that she could reach up and pull her mother into a tight hug. "I forgive you. You were doing what you thought was best. I know that you want to protect me from Cyrus, but, with everything going on, his prejudices are the least of my worries, and I can't keep going on with feeling like something about is me is inherently wrong."

"You understand what you're asking, correct?" Lily asked. "Your appearance and probably some of your behaviour are going to change. You're protected while in Hogwarts, but Cyrus still has control over your life outside of it."

"What kind of control?" Harry asked.

"The Head of a House has the right to requisition the Trace be used to locate their children," Penelope explained. "That's why we spent the summer at Grimmauld Place and Potter Manor. They're both under the Fidelius, so the Trace couldn't find Daphne or Tori there."

"I don't care," Daphne said. "Potter Manor is huge, and he can't get to me while at Hogwarts."

"What about all those goals you have for the future?" Penelope asked. "You know how prejudiced the Wizarding World is, are you sure you want to go through that."

"Remus is a werewolf, Griphook is a goblin, and Firenze is a centaur," Daphne replied. "All three have a seat on the Wizengamot, and are fighting with Harry for the betterment of their kind. I'm not going to work towards equality while hiding who I am either."

Harry could feel Daphne's resolve, and knew that Penelope could see it as well as she smiled and whispered, "I'm so proud of you, Sweetheart." She then stood up and nodded to Lily, who raised her wand and waved it in an intricate pattern in front of Daphne who sat with her eyes scrunched shut in anticipation.

"Gabriel."

There was no flash of light, or pulse of magic to indicate that the charm had been removed. Instead, Harry simply watched as Daphne's skin paled slightly.

"Did it –" she stopped mid-sentence and recoiled slightly as her tongue came up to run along her teeth, where her canines had lengthened slightly. "I guess it did."

"You're beautiful," Harry muttered breathlessly. Daphne had always been the most beautiful girl Harry had ever seen, but now she was downright _enchanting._ Her skin had paled and reminded Harry somewhat of the pure white of a unicorn – as opposed to the two vampires in Germany whose pallor could only be described as corpse-like. Her eyes, which had been an identical shade of icy blue to Cyrus Temple, were now a brilliant violet with hints of red along the outside. Her new fangs gave her a slightly feral look, which complimented the subtle smell of blood that mingled with the vanilla and parchment and made Harry's inner beast want to pounce her right there and then.

"Really?" Daphne asked shyly.

Harry nodded dumbly as he continued to fight the urge to ravish her right there in front of both of their mothers, only to gasp as the feeling suddenly multiplied exponentially. He stiffened and locked himself in place as he did every time he was close to losing control and barely heard Penelope over the roaring in his ears.

"Daphne, you have to control yourself!"

Gradually, the feelings passed, and Harry shook his head as he came back to the present and found Daphne staring at him apologetically.

"Vampires and dhampir have an allure similar to veela," Penelope explained. "It can produce feelings in others and make them less inhibited. You're going to have to practice and learn how to control yourself."

Daphne lowered her head and Harry could feel her shame through their bond.

"Don't worry about it," he said soothingly. "We'll owl Fleur, she'll be able to give you some tips on how to control it."

Daphne smiled and leaned against him again, reminding him of the letter he had received as it crinkled under her weight. Shifting her slightly, he pulled it out and she, Penelope, and Lily all looked at it curiously.

"Who's that from?" Lily asked.

"Gringotts," Harry replied as he stood up and grabbed a knife from his desk. Slicing open the palm of his right hand, he broke the seal and emptied the contents of the envelope right on top of the cut. The moment the shiny galleon hit his hand, it glowed a faint blue and less than a minute later a pair of pops announced Griphook and Ragnok's arrival. Harry bowed to them and returned the galleon to Griphook.

"Is this visit about what I hope it is?"

Ragnok and Griphook both grinned, showing mouths full of pointed teeth.

"We've located another Horcrux."


	41. Chapter 41

"Finding records of Tom Marvolo Riddle and his activities after graduating from Hogwarts was no easy task," Ragnok explained. He and Griphook were seated with Harry, Daphne, Sirius, Severus, Minerva, Lily, Penelope, Remus, and Amelia around a table in the middle of his office as they explained how they found the latest Horcrux. "Finding evidence of his life before Hogwarts proved an even harder challenge."

"Avoiding the scrutiny of both your Ministry and our own councils didn't make things any easier either," Griphook added.

"I can understand avoiding the Ministry," Lily said, "but why would you be hiding your activities from the Goblin Nation. I thought Harry was a friend of the goblins."

"There is more than a grain of truth to the reputation our kind has received," Griphook admitted unapologetically. "It is in our nature to work tirelessly to improve our standing through whatever means necessary. We are also far more susceptible to Dragon Sickness than other sentient races."

"Dragon Sickness?" Daphne asked.

"It's a mental affliction that's caused by large amounts of treasure," Harry explained, relaying what Kyddris was hissing to him. "It causes greedy, illogical, and violent behaviour."

"As such, while Harry has earned my respect, and, through his friendship with me and Griphook, the title of Friend to the Goblin Nation, it does not guarantee the loyalty of the entire Nation," Ragnok continued. "We are a race with a long, bloody history of betrayal. It would not be wise to risk involving anyone that would sell us out to one of Riddle's many spies. Especially with our political foothold having changed so drastically since Griphook accepted the position as proxy for the House of Slytherin."

"So, this Horcrux," Amelia said, trying to get them back on track. "It has to do with Riddle's past?"

"Yes," Griphook replied. "We knew already that Riddle was the Heir of Slytherin before Harry won the title from him in the Chamber of Secrets three years ago, so, in our quest to document as much of his life as we could for hints of where he would hide any other Horcruxes, I used my privilege as Slytherin Proxy to examine the bloodline records in Gringotts sealed files that are used for inheritance tests. Though his name would have been removed from the tree when he lost his inheritance, it did provide me with a place to start."

"And I'm guessing that it's more complicated than just hunting looking for his father's name and working from there?" Harry inferred.

"Muggles don't get registered into magical bloodlines," Ragnok replied, confirming Harry's suspicion. "As such we had to find Riddle's mother, and for a family as old as Slytherin, we were forced to go all the way back to Salazar himself and try our hardest to trace the bloodline to the most likely candidate out of the hundreds of descendants."

"We eventually narrowed it down to only a few possible candidates before discovering that one of them lived in Little Hangleton – the same town where we managed to procure muggle records of there being a house called Riddle Manor," Griphook continued. "Once I had that, I went to Little Hangleton myself to search for any clues as to where Riddle had gone from there, only to detect massive amounts of magic and warding hidden outside the village."

"After that, Griphook came straight to me," Ragnok concluded. "And we sent you the letter right after."

"Which means that's our best bet for where the next Horcrux is," Harry said. "When would be the soonest we could get there?"

"As soon as you are ready," Ragnok replied. "However, we do both have to return to our posts soon, otherwise people will start questioning our absence."

"I'll be by later in the week to ask how everything went," Griphook added.

Harry nodded and kissed Daphne on the side of her head as he stood up. He could feel her bitterness at being left behind, but, after the fiasco the night before Valentine's day, knew that she wasn't yet at a point where she could properly keep herself safe and contribute actively in that sort of thing. "Mum, I'd like it if you, Severus, and Sirius could come with us to back me up. Amelia, you should probably get back so that people don't suspect your involvement in this. Either Dobby or Tipsy will come get you if we need you."

The adults all nodded and Lily, Severus, and Sirius all stood to join Harry in following Griphook and Ragnok through the Floo to Gringotts, where they were then apparated to the middle of a thick forest filled with sinister-looking trees, whose twisting, gnarled branches reached towards them like massive skeletal claws.

"Good luck, Harry Potter," Ragnok said, bowing low. "May your enemies fall by your feet."

"And may your gold flow like the blood of those you've felled," Harry replied, returning the bow.

Both Ragnok and Griphook vanished with a crack, and the four of them were left alone in the oppressive darkness.

"So, I guess that's our destination?" Sirius said pointing between the tangled trunks to a half-hidden building illuminated by the faint light of the moon. The surrounding trees blocked all light from reaching it, and hid the house from the outside world. Its walls were covered in a thick layer of moss and vines that hung off the edges reminding Harry of the tattered cloak of a Dementor as they swayed in the small breeze that managed to find its way between the trees. The roof was missing so many tiles that Harry could see nettles growing off the rafters and down to the windows which were tiny and caked in so much grime that even in the poor lighting they were an opaque greyish-brown.

"There's quite a bit of dark magic protecting that place," Severus said, raising his wand to start analysing the protections placed around the dilapidated shack. "This is definitely his doing."

"There's quite a few wards I don't recognize here," Sirius added as he raised his own wand.

"Harry, you best check for Parsel-magic," Lily said as her wand joined the other two. "You're the only one who could undo them without needing to break them."

Harry nodded and summoned his staff. He started hissing quietly as he joined the other three in analysing the massive amount of wards surrounding the shack. He nearly chuckled as he thought about Riddle not knowing the meaning of the word overkill, and did when he stumbled across his funniest discovery.

"What is it?" Lily asked.

"There are no detection wards," Harry sniggered.

Sirius snorted and shook his head. "The most powerful Dark Lord in history, and he's going to be brought down by not using the first ward everyone learns and uses when protecting a place."

"Each of the Parseltongue wards seems to be tied to the rest of the protections," Harry continued, his smile fading. "It's like Riddle somehow managed to combine all of them into one powerful ward."

"That's an apt description," Severus praised, and Harry fought down the warm surge of pride as his coal-black eyes warmed slightly and his lips twitched while Lily and Sirius smiled proudly. "By tying the various wards together, they fuel each other, making them all stronger and harder to break. It's an incredibly complex procedure that requires intimate knowledge of each spell you are casting and how they react with each other."

"How come the wards around Hogwarts aren't like that?" Harry asked.

"You can detect the wards around Hogwarts?" Lily asked.

Harry nodded and raised an eyebrow at her shocked expression, but ignored it as Sirius answered his question. "Hogwarts, like most heavily defended places, uses a ward stone instead. Tying the wards together might make them individually stronger, but at the cost of being easier to undo as each subsequent ward you undo loosens the others. With a ward stone, the wards can be fueled with ambient magic, making them more powerful without risking them being as easily outmaneuvered as they are a mixture of projected spells and runes carved on the stone itself."

"There is a soul-ward acting as the base of the protections," Severus said as he slashed his wand through the air. "It seems that it is the only point where the unraveling of the wards can begin."

"I've never heard of a soul-ward," Sirius said, frowning in confusion.

"It's part of the same branch of magic that Horcruxes and the Killing Curse belong to," Lily replied. "As well as the protection I put on Harry that James and I were working on before we died. It can't be undone, only broken using raw power, and that raw power has to be at least equal to the one who cast it. Considering who we're dealing with, I think Harry's the only one of us who would stand a chance at breaking it."

"What?" Harry squawked. "Why me?"

"Harry, you've fought against Riddle twice already," Severus said. "Both times, as well, you lasted longer than any one person has."

"Severus is right, honey," Lily added. "Your father and I met him three times during the war. Each time we only lasted a couple minutes before having to get away, and after each fight we were bedridden for at least a week from the exertion of keeping up with him alone, the injuries took even longer."

Harry raised an eyebrow disbelievingly. The last time he fought Riddle, he had been woefully outmatched, and it had taken everything he had just to land a few hits. It was true that he was mostly forced to fight defensively, as there were several Aurors and other people that he didn't want getting hurt, but his mother made it sound like Riddle was some sort of godlike being.

"Your mother's right, cub," Sirius said. "I had a lot of time while we were in that chamber to see you fight, and it's easy to see that, in terms of raw power, you are one of the most powerful wizards I've ever seen. Dumbledore and Riddle might be ahead of you know, but you more than make up for it, and it won't be long until you're on their level as well."

"That still doesn't help here and now," Harry argued.

 _You forget, Young One, that you will not be facing this alone._

There was a flash of lighting, and Harry felt warmth blossom in his chest as Zephyr appeared and landed on his shoulder. He felt his tattoo warm up as well as Kyddris offered his support as well.

 _We will always stand by you, Harry. Our power is yours to wield if you only ask._

Harry smiled and watched as the crimson sphere at the top of his staff glowed brilliantly as magic coursed down his arm and through his body. The magical core given to him by the Horntail he defeated last year seemed to be reacting to something. The winged serpents coiled around the lion head holding the sphere in its jaws, spread their swapped wings, and turned to stare at him. He felt a shimmer of magic, and held out his hand as his sword materialized in its grasp, the same surge of warmth flowing through it into him that he felt from the staff. Understanding that his staff and blade were both offering their support as well, Harry took a deep breath and centered himself before turning to face the tiny shack.

"So what do I have to do?" He asked.

Lily smiled and cupped his cheek, turning his head back to look down at her before pulling him down to lay a soft kiss on his forehead. "Just cast the Shield-Penetrating Spell, and keep your magic flowing into it. We'll take care of the rest."

Harry nodded and took one more deep breath. He looked down at his staff and his blade, and allowed his body to move on its own as he raised them both towards the worn down shack. Closing his eyes, he reached inside himself and found his magic. Smiling slightly as he felt the crackling fire build within him, focussing on his desire to have a life of his own, and how that would only happen after the war was over and Riddle was dead. He pushed all of his willpower and intent into that goal, and obliterating the current obstacle to achieving it, and channeled the raging fire outward.

Wisps of energy flowed out of his body as he imagined a world where his enemies had fallen by his feet. Where he would wake up and know that only those wishing for a quick death now challenged him or threatened those he cared about. Where he would get out of bed and be greeted by a smiling Daphne, her skin glowing as he kissed her softly and her newly-turned violet eyes shining with mirth when he leaned down to kiss her swollen stomach. Where they would be greeted by a somewhat older Bella, and lounge about in their bed deciding what they wanted to do that day. Safe in the knowledge that he wouldn't allow Dark Lords, Headmasters, or anything else that meant his family harm come near them before being destroyed with extreme prejudice.

The wisps thickened and coalesced around him, some shining a brilliant white that left colourful spots in his observers' eyes, and others a black so dark, the night around them seemed like noon. The wisps continued to thicken and ravel around Harry, mixing together into a beautiful silver light as a mighty bolt of energy surged forward and crashed into the invisible barriers around the house. The air around the house rippled from the sheer power radiating off of him. Zephyr cried out and flapped his wings, and the silver beam of light was suddenly wreathed in bright blue lightening and golden flames, swirling around the beam and crashing into the barrier while the pressure and strength of his magic forced Sirius, Lily, and Severus to their knees.

He never shouted, or even opened his eyes, as he threw everything he had into breaking through the barrier. Instead, he merely lost himself in his dreams of the future and used them to fuel himself. His hatred for his enemies mixed with his love for those closest to him, and created something more powerful than Harry had ever experienced. With one final surge of effort, Harry punched through the barrier, and felt it shatter beneath him. He stopped the flow of his magic and sank to his knees tiredly, enjoying the soft feeling of Zephyr's feathers against his cheek as he grounded himself back in the present.

He simply sat there, breathing deeply, until he felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up to see Severus looking down proudly at him.

"Come, we're nearly done. You just need to undo the Parseltongue wards."

Harry nodded and tiredly slashed his sword through the air, blue light growing from the tip as he hissed the incantations to undo the wards. When he was done, he leaned tiredly on his staff as Sirius helped him towards the shack where Lily wrapped her arms around him and hugged him softly. It didn't take long to locate the box hidden under the floorboard, and, rather than risk dealing with the curses they found on the box and whatever was inside it, Harry gathered his strength to simply thrust his sword down into it, piercing it easily and destroying the Horcrux. The box flew open and he saw an ugly gold ring with a black stone that emitted the dark filth that was the remains of Riddle's soul. Reaching down to grab the ring, Harry noticed the design inscribed on the cracked stone and called for Tipsy store it somewhere safe so that he could properly examine later.

His job done, the last of Harry's strength left him, and he allowed himself to fall into the sweet embrace of sleep, confidant that three of the people most important to him would take good care of him in the meantime.

*(OoO)*

Daphne ran her fingers through Harry's long hair as she watched him sleep. He had returned from his excursion unconscious, and Lily, after having Madam Pomfrey called to his office to examine him, explained to them how he had to use nearly all of his magic to destroy a ward around the shack hiding the Horcrux. Madam Pomfrey confirmed that Harry was indeed suffering from an extreme case of magical exhaustion, and told them that he just needed to rest.

That had been six days ago.

The only silver lining that she had found was that she had been excused from classes as well after they found that her presence was speeding up his recovery. It gave her time to prepare mentally for revealing herself to the school, something she knew wouldn't go nearly as well as when her friends and sister saw her new form. All of them were incredibly supportive, with Tracey and Blaise even cracking jokes by the end of it.

"Daphne!"

Looking up from the vein on Harry's neck, which had started to lull her into a soft sort of trance with its hypnotic thrumming, Daphne looked around to see her mother, Astoria, Bella, Tracey, and Blaise all staring at her with concern.

"What?"

"Drink some of your blood, Sweetheart," Penelope ordered softly. "Your fangs are already showing."

Licking along her teeth, Daphne sighed as she felt the needle-sharp points of her new fangs and reached over to the table next to Harry to grab the flask of pig's blood that Dobby had gotten from the kitchens. Her mother had explained that, while she would still be able to eat food for nourishment, the hunger and cravings would only intensify if ignored, and as she had no experience with managing them, that meant that Daphne had to have blood with her at all times. It had filled Daphne with relief when she was told that she didn't necessarily have to feed on human blood – especially when she found out that blood was far healthier for her nutritionally than food now.

Taking a swig from the flask, Daphne swallowed and immediately felt the difference as she sighed with relief. She was always surprised when the blood touched her tongue and, rather than the disgusting metallic taste she would expect from blood, found it to be the most delicious thing she had ever tasted and not been able to describe. She had never drank anything that would even begin to provide a comparison, as warm tingling spread from her tongue, down her throat, and through her body. Vaguely, she felt her more dramatic side comparing it to the nectar that the gods in ancient myths would drink, before chuckling internally at the irony of it.

"Better?" Tracey asked.

"Much," Daphne replied.

"You know, if you didn't want to reveal your secret, you could always let a rumor spread that you've become an alcoholic," Blaise teased as Daphne rolled her eyes.

"Yes, Blaise," Astoria retorted sarcastically. "Being a drunk would definitely explain why my sister's eyes have changed and she now looks better than ever."

Daphne preened a little bit at Astoria's playfully bitter tone regarding her looks. She had always known that she was beautiful, but never really took pride in it as anything other than another tool for when she got out of Hogwarts. Despite that, she had been partly worried about how Harry would react when they were told that her appearance would change. The imprint his lion side had made on her had made him incapable of being attracted to anyone else, and while she did alternate between guilt and smugness at the fact that his eyes never wandered, there had been an inkling of dread when she asked him how she looked.

His response couldn't have been better, as emotions just shy of worship flowed easily from him as he looked at her. He had sheepishly admitted that he had mixed feelings about her eyes before, as, unlike Tori, whose eyes, while blue like Cyrus' as well, had inherited their mother's warmth, Daphne's had been an exact copy of one of the few men Daphne knew Harry hated past the point of forgiveness. A shift in hue later, though, and Daphne could tell from the way he kept zoning out while they were waiting for the other adults after Griphook and Ragnok had that her eyes were now one of his favourite parts of her.

 _That's just because he hasn't properly seen or done anything with your other parts yet,_ a salacious little voice in the back of her head that sounded suspiciously similar to her best friend had whispered.

"How are you doing with controlling your new powers?" Bella asked.

"It's slow going," Daphne replied. "The book Fleur sent me was pretty vague on how a dhampir's temptation works. It mostly talked about it in relation to the veela's allure. Professor Snape has been helping though. We know that on the instinctual level, the temptation is tied to my emotions, so he's returned to teaching me Occlumency."

"I hope you get a handle on it soon," Blaise said. "I was close to offering myself up as your next snack before we finally snapped you out of it."

"Sorry about that," Daphne replied, looking down in shame.

"Don't worry about it."

"Besides, you're already the scariest person in Hogwarts," Tracey said cheekily. "The only difference is you won't need to say a word, or even summon the terrifyingly powerful professor to make people run away screaming."

"She could already do that with just a look when we first met."

"Harry!" Daphne shouted, shooting forward out of her chair to wrap her arms around his neck.

"Hey, Sunshine," Harry croaked, reaching up to cup her face, the warm, rough texture of his calloused palms making her smile as his magic unintentionally flowed into her. "How long have I been out?"

"It'll be a week tomorrow," Tracey said.

"Blimey, Harry, how can someone who actually likes studying as much as you do spend so much time in bed?" Blaise asked teasingly.

"It's a gift," Harry replied. "Bright side, is we got another Horcrux."

"I knew you could do it!" Astoria cheered as she and Bella hugged Harry happily.

Harry chuckled and returned the hugs, planting a kiss on Bella's temple as she clambered into the bed with him while Penelope went to go Floo his mother.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you when you revealed yourself to the school," he said after a moment.

"I haven't yet," Daphne replied. "I've been here pretty much the whole time. Madam Pomfrey says that my presence was helping with your recovery. Professor Snape thinks it has to do with our connection."

Harry raised an eyebrow and shrugged, running a hand through Bella's hair as Zephyr and a shrunken Kyddris made their way over to his bed as well. "I guess that makes sense."

"Harry?" Bella asked quietly. "Am I going to have to hide when I come to Hogwarts? I don't want to go back to Azkaban if people find out who I was, but I don't want to hide my wings either. I love them."

"Bella, I had decisions made for me without my knowledge for most of my childhood," Harry said. "I don't know what we're going to do about your wings yet, but I promise that you'll have a say in whatever happens."

"Make sure you think carefully about what you want, Bella," Daphne said. "If you choose to expose yourself, life will not be easy for you."

"But you're doing it."

"I've had time to think about it and prepare myself. I know that when I go return to my classes, there will be people who see me as less than a person, and will treat me as some sort of animal. I also know that there will be people afraid of me, and people who will hate me just for being myself. I have no doubt that there will be attempts made to expel me from the school, and it's going to take a lot of work from my mother and Harry's proxies to even let me keep my last name and my wand."

"Is that why you're not telling people about having Lycanthropy?" Bella asked, turning to look at Harry with wide eyes.

"Harry's not revealing his affliction because he needs to make sure his enemies know as little about him as possible," Daphne replied. "Especially considering he isn't like a regular werewolf."

"That being said, I wouldn't deny it if accused," Harry added. "I have an advantage that you and Daphne don't, Bella, and that's that I still look fully human. I don't need to put in too much work to keep that particular secret. That being said, if you want us to glamour you so that you look like a fully human girl, none of us will think any less of you. If you don't, and you want to expose yourself, then I promise that you'll have all of our protection and support as well."

Bella still looked indecisive by the time Lily dropped in with Sirius to check on Harry and she was sent to bed. The tone of conversations was warm and light as they spoke, and Daphne couldn't help but smile as she laid in Harry's bed with his arms around her. Harry had spoken with Sirius, who had agreed with him that they would work together to give Daphne some more advanced combat training, so long as she could convince her mother to give her permission. Tomorrow she would start working on the perfect way to convince her. Hopefully it would take her mind off the inevitable fallout that she had been avoiding for the past week.


	42. Chapter 42

Sirius was kind enough to skip his breakfast so that she could get to the Defence class early after eating with Harry in his office. The three of them waited with Sirius looking almost as worried as Daphne felt, while Harry simply sat at his desk under a window at the front of the room and started working on his research. She was able to deduce through their connection that he was unconcerned, and was even somewhat anxious to see who she or her friends would end up hexing first. The other teachers were carefully notified of what was going on, and Daphne was touched when Professor Flitwick came up to Harry's office while he was still sleeping from his mission, smiled, and squeaked, "It's a pleasure to finally see the real you, Miss Greengrass. I applaud your bravery."

Hagrid also came by and reminded Daphne that he would be around if she ever wanted to talk. Professor Snape had also told her that even Dumbledore was supporting her, though he shared her reservations that there was more to it than simple altruism. Her suspicions were easily confirmed by Sirius, when he said that it had taken him reminding Dumbledore of another half-vampire who started at Hogwarts during his fifth year (surprisingly, the boy had grown up to be a rather famous singer, though Tracey, Harry, and Blaise all stubbornly maintained the opinion that Muggle music was far better). Harry had also rearranged his usual schedule so that he would be nearby at all times, in case of emergency, and she had friends from each house that would be there if he wasn't for the minute it would take to get to her.

Eventually, the door opened, and the fifth year Slytherins and Gryffindors walked in. Tracey and Blaise took seats on either side of Daphne, and Sirius composed himself before launching into a lecture on the Shield Charm. She desperately wished she had Harry's grimoire, as that would give her access to the more comprehensive texts in his collection regarding the spell, but he hadn't gotten around to examining whatever it was Granger had cast on her bag, leaving her with a new one provided by Harry's office and having to lug all of her regular textbooks around.

She settled for asking Harry if he could take a look at the bag later that day and stood up as Sirius had them split into pairs where one would cast a Stunner and the other would try to block it. Harry transfigured the tables and chairs into soft cushions, and Daphne stood across from Tracey, trying to ignore the looks being thrown her way as she pulled out her flask and took a swig of blood. Tracey smiled reassuringly, and they got to practicing. The class passed without incident, however it took less than a minute after she had stepped out of the classroom for her to feel the stirrings of a craving and to reach down for her flask, only to find it missing.

"Looking for this?" Malfoy called from behind her.

"Give it back, Malfoy," Daphne growled.

"I'm surprised, Greengrass. The OWLs must be really getting to you if you've taken to day drinking," Malfoy sneered. "I'm going to have to give you detention, and report you for underage drinking."

Daphne felt her fangs lengthen and knew that she could keep her mouth shut and wait for Harry or Sirius to come out, and then wait for when people would start to figure it out, or she could take control of the situation and follow through with her decision to expose herself.

"It's not alcohol," she argued. "See for yourself."

Malfoy opened the flask and took a whiff before recoiling in disgust, his eyes wide as Daphne sauntered up to him. She felt magic seeping out of her into the air, and figured that must be what her temptation was as it made everyone freeze in place, unable to take their attention off of her. Snatching the flask out of Malfoy's hands, she grinned coldly, exposing her fangs. "As I said." She threw her head back and took a hearty swig, wiping her thumb across her lips to gather the leftover blood and show him. "Not alcohol."

Without another word, she spun in place and joined Tracey and Blaise, who were both grinning madly, and Harry, who beamed with pride as he escorted them to her Runes class.

By the time Runes was finished and she headed to her free period, word of what she did, and what she was, had already spread through the school. Looks of fear, hatred, and disgust followed her wherever she went, and there was almost no escape from the unending whispers. She couldn't get to Harry's office fast enough, where she found him practicing his swordsmanship against an enchanted dummy. It was strangely relaxing to watch, as it almost seemed like he was performing some sort of dance as he spun and ducked and leapt through the air. His practice blade sang as he swung it, and she watched as the practice dummy was joined by three more with swords and four that wielded wands.

Even with the new additions, Harry used nothing more than a Shield Charm as he continued fighting. He ducked and weaved between the bolts of light while cutting his opponents down, barely making a noise the entire time. He didn't make any indication that he knew he was being watched until after he planted his blade in the chest of the last dummy.

"Enjoy the show?"

"More than you would have had our positions been reversed."

"I'm sure I would have found it sufficiently entertaining," Harry quipped as he walked over to her. He was dressed in only a tight pair of shorts that stopped halfway down his thighs, and his skin shone with a thin layer of sweat. "How was Runes?"

Daphne shrugged. "Fine, I guess. We expected this kind of treatment, and I didn't do myself any favours with that little display with Malfoy."

"No, but we both know you wouldn't have been treated any better if you did nothing. At least this way, people have been reminded that you're not someone to mess with."

Daphne smiled and pecked him on the lips, wrinkling her nose playfully. "You're sweaty."

Harry chuckled warmly. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

"Go take a shower, Wildcat. Then I'd like it if we could take a look at what Granger did to my bag."

Harry nodded and headed off towards a door that spontaneously appeared as his office shrunk back to its usual size. Daphne waited on the couch, idly petting Rosie until he returned a few minutes later, dressed once more in his pristine dark suit underneath a waistcoat-like robe.

He came to a stop next to her, and waved his hand, summoning the thick metal lockbox onto a table that appeared before them. His staff appeared in his left hand, and he vanished the box before pointing it at her bag. Daphne watched as the two serpents on his staff came to life, and leaned down to inspect the bag themselves while he stood there with his eyes closed. After about a minute, the serpents returned to their original position, and Harry opened his eyes. Reaching down to where a piece of parchment and a pen had appeared he wrote a quick note and handed it to her.

 _Was there anything of value inside this bag?_

 _Just your grimoire,_ Daphne scribbled, handing the note back to him.

Harry read it and nodded, waving his hand and summoning his grimoire out of the bag and into his hand before handing it back to her. With that, he levitated the bag right in front of his face and scowled. "If you ever try to spy on me or another student again, Granger, I'll snap your wand myself."

With that, he waved his hand and banished the bag into the fireplace.

Dobby appeared with a pop and bowed low. "What can Dobby be doing for Master?"

"Fetch Minerva for me."

"That's it?" Daphne asked. "You're just going to let her off with a warning?"

"I have no doubt that Dumbledore will get in the way of any attempt I make at extracting punishment," Harry growled. "The most she'd get is detention and some points taken away. It's not worth it."

"Sometimes I think your life would be much easier if you just left Britain to fend for itself," Daphne sighed.

"You know I couldn't do that," Harry replied softly taking a seat next to her.

"Why not?" Daphne demanded. "There are plenty of other schools that would be happy to have you!"

"I'm not about to leave those I care about," Harry replied. "Nor can I ask them all to uproot their lives at the drop of a hat just because I don't like being bullied."

"You wouldn't have to." They turned as Professor McGonagall appeared with Dobby, smiling warmly. "Harry, after everything that has happened, the only reason I remain here is for you. The same goes for Sirius. If you wanted to leave, we would follow you in a heartbeat."

Harry looked stunned at the admission, and Daphne could feel him working furiously to understand what he had just been told. "B-but, what about my position? I'm bound to stay at Hogwarts. I have to stay here. And there's Dumbledore too."

"You is not bound to stay here, Master," Dobby squeaked. "You is making bond with the Lady, not school."

"What do you mean, Dobby?" Harry asked.

"Headmaster Whiskers like to think that house-elves work for him, but they is not. They is bound to the Lady. They work for her, not just at Hoggy-warts, but wherever she is needing us."

"I thought that this Lady they referred to _was_ Hogwarts," McGonagall said.

"Hoggy-warts is castle," Dobby said simply. "How could castle be a Lady?"

"Then who is she, Dobby?" Harry asked.

"Dobby cannot say, Master. The Lady is old, and mysterious. From what kitchen elves has told Dobby, she is very kind, and allows elves to bond to her so they can live and serve wherever she is."

"And where is she?" Daphne inquired.

"She is many places," Dobby replied. "Dobby does not know every place, but he does know that she has elves at the school where Master's Flower-friend went. Tipsy told Dobby that she is also at Potter Manor."

"Tipsy!" Harry exclaimed.

"You called, Master?" Tipsy said as she appeared next to Dobby.

"Tipsy, can you clarify what it is that Dobby means when he speaks about a Lady at Potter Manor?"

"I'm afraid I don't know much, Master," Tipsy said apologetically. "There are many stories about the Lady, but I've never seen nor spoken with her."

"What do these stories say?" Daphne asked.

"Many of them tell of a Lady who comes to lost elves and bonds to them," Tipsy said. "It is said that she finds them work, usually in places where we are needed. She is older than any other, can be found wherever there is magic. Some say that the Lady is magic given form."

Harry thanked the elves and dismissed them before turning back to address McGonagall. "What do you think Minerva?"

"I think it sounds like a fairy tale," McGonagall replied. "However, assuming Dobby was referring to Miss Delacour and therefore Beauxbatons Academy, of the three places he mentioned, the only thing tying them together is that they are extremely old and magical places, located extremely close to the magical ley lines that course through the world."

"Two of which are schools with House-elves working inside," Daphne added.

Harry frowned thoughtfully. "I'm going to send a letter to Nicolas and Ragnok and ask them about this."

"Does that mean that you're considering it?" Daphne asked.

"I'm not going anywhere without you," Harry said. "But we agreed to leave things with the Circle because there was too much on my plate. If there's a way that I can go somewhere where I can focus solely on teaching as well as the war, then I'll think about it, at least. I just hate the thought of leaving everyone behind."

"There's no shame in moving, Harry," McGonagall said softly. "You've done more than any one person has in the fight against Riddle. You may be destined to be the one who finishes this fight, but don't think that means you owe anyone anything. This war has escalated passed the point it was at last time, and there are plenty of places where you will be able to make a difference."

"Harry, once I have my OWLs, I'll be able to go wherever you go," Daphne added. "In fact, I'd be happy to get away from everyone acting like I'm going to tear their throats out without warning. There are a ton of things to think about though, so why don't we at least wait until then, and we'll have a nice, long discussion with everyone. Okay?"

Harry nodded and smiled, pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. "Thanks."

"Now, was there a reason you had Dobby call me here?" McGonagall asked.

"Granger tried to spy on us by placing a load of charms meant for espionage on Daphne's bag," Harry explained. "There wasn't much I can do, since Dumbledore would jump at the opportunity to properly spy on me, but I thought it prudent that you know what your lions are getting up to."

McGonagall scowled in rage, and Daphne could feel a not insignificant amount of magic filling the air – which spoke to how angry she must have been if someone as in control as McGonagall was leaking magic into the air – but it was easily held off as Harry's own came out to clash with it. The easy demonstration of power seemed to snap McGonagall back to attention as she cursed angrily in what Daphne assumed to be Gaelic.

"I have never been so ashamed of one of my own!" She exclaimed. "Trust me, Harry, Dumbledore might not do anything, but I will."

"She's already been warned, Minerva," Harry said.

"Oh, she'll get more than a warning," McGonagall promised before storming out of the office.

Harry sighed and shook his head with a fond smile as he headed over to his desk to start penning the letters to Ragnok and Flamel.

"Does Flamel know that we've cut off contact with the Circle?" Daphne asked as she returned to her seat on the couch, smiling when a table full of food appeared in front of her.

"He approves of the decision," Harry replied. "Though he did say I should think about rejoining in a few years when all of this is over."

"I can understand that," Daphne quipped. "You can't live without at least a little bit of action; a secret double life saving the world would do you good once you're done doing it this time."

"Maybe next time, you'll be good enough to come with me," Harry said as he gave one letter to Hedwig and another to Zephyr.

"Please, I'll be too busy balancing being the best Healer around with using our collective political capital to drag the Wizarding World kicking and screaming into this century."

"Where'd this sudden ambition to be a Healer come from?" He asked as he filled a plate and sat next to her.

"The practice grows on you when you're constantly patching up your boyfriend."

Harry laughed and they finished eating before Harry joined her for the rest of her classes for that day. His presence didn't do much to stop the stares or whispers, but Daphne was comforted enough to properly ignore them. With the OWLs and NEWTs fast approaching, Harry decided to call an end to his classes, stating that Sirius could help out whoever needed it, but that his offer still stood of teaching those who invented the best spell, potion, or device whatever they wanted at the end of the year.

That night, Sirius, Minerva, Severus, and Lily joined them in his office while Griphook came to inform them of their attempts to convince the Goblin Nation to part with the Horcrux in the Lestrange vault.

"Unfortunately, the other Directors of the Goblin Nation have ruled against Ragnok. We have tried offering compensation for it, but they are being strangely obstinate on this issue."

"It's one measly cup!" Sirius explained. "Why would they be so against parting with it?"

"Ragnok suspects that the dark nature of the cup is amplifying the effects of the Dragon Sickness," Griphook replied. "Four goblins have already been killed trying to gain access to the vault, and the directors from other branches have been reported visiting often to go inspect it themselves."

"Why aren't you two being affected?" Lily asked.

"That would be thanks to your son," Griphook replied, reaching inside his shirt to bring out a small amulet with a diamond in the center bearing the image of a tree whose branches connected to its roots.

"Griphook has unrestricted access to my vaults," Harry explained. "Most of which I haven't even seen yet. I didn't want anything catching him by surprise, so I put as many protections as I could think of in it. It, and the one I gave Ragnok, were kind of the prototypes for the one I gave Daphne for her birthday."

Daphne smiled and kissed him on the cheek, fingering the familiar chain against her neck.

"These runes of yours are really something, Harry," Sirius commented as he fiddled with his own. It made Daphne feel almost like she was part of some sort of secret group herself when she thought about all the people Harry had gifted with his protective runes.

"While we wear these, Ragnok and I are not as susceptible to the Dragon Sickness," Griphook said.

"So, why can't one of you two just take it?" Minerva asked. "I understand that it would be a lot to ask, but surely you see how important it is that we acquire and destroy these abominations."

"Not even Ragnok can simply walk up to the vault and take something from it," Griphook replied. "The countless protections aside, he would be the first suspect if something were to go missing."

"And you'd be the second, which would have you taken off the Wizengamot," Harry surmised. He paused, and Daphne could see the beginnings of an idea forming in his head. "That's why I'll do it."


	43. Chapter 43

"Apparently, I've given birth to a lunatic!" Lily shouted as she paced angrily around Harry's office.

"We broke Bella out of Azkaban," Harry reasoned. "Why should this be any different?"

"Because, there are more than just Dementors protecting Gringotts, Harry," Minerva replied.

Harry ignored her and turned to Griphook, bowing in apology. " _I'm sorry, Griphook, but I see no other option than to take the cup myself,"_ he said in Gobbledygook. " _I regret that I have to betray the nation that calls me friend, but I will gladly adopt the mantle of enemy if it means that I'm that much closer to ridding the world of Riddle."_

"It fills my heart with pride that you would say that, Friend Potter," Griphook replied. "However you will not be undertaking this task alone. You will need a goblin to help you access the vault, and I would be honoured to be kidnapped in order to help you."

Harry chuckled while everyone else stared in disbelief.

"Harry, you understand what you're proposing, right?" Severus asked. "If you are caught, then there is a very real possibility of us losing this war."

Harry was about to answer when Sirius sighed dramatically. "Well, I guess it'll be interesting to actually deserve to be in Azkaban for once."

"You can't be serious!" Lily shouted.

"I'm pretty sure I am," Sirius replied with a smirk, earning himself a swat on the head from Minerva.

"What about Amelia?" Harry asked. "Your girlfriend is the Head of the DMLE. I'm pretty sure you robbing a bank would cause relationship issues."

"You're my godson," Sirius said simply. "She understands that there's nothing more important to me than standing by your side."

Harry's chest swelled with happiness and he wrapped Sirius in a tight hug, grinning when his mother through her head back and groaned. "Great, now I'm robbing a bank too!"

Harry and Sirius laughed as they wrapped Lily up in the hug while she muttered darkly about Harry being James' son through and through.

*(OoO)*

They had all agreed that they would wait until the end of term to make any move against Gringotts, giving them time to properly prepare for any resistance they would undoubtedly encounter. April moved into May, and the older students became increasingly stressed as exams got ever closer. Some of his students had already started coming to Harry to show what they had come up with, and he had judged them all with a fair, critical eye. The most common invention he saw were potions that did anything from changing the length and colour of the drinker's hair, to temporarily changing their gender. Fred and George so far had the most interesting invention, as they had modified several magical fireworks to fire all sorts of different spells. Harry awarded them extra points when they mentioned that they wanted to market them for use in the war, and told them to contact Griphook about it.

Unfortunately, Griphook was slightly preoccupied, as he was balancing working on their plan for the heist, with keeping up appearances by working on Harry's latest investment into the Three Broomsticks. He had met with Madam Rosmerta not long after that night, and Harry had coerced her into selling him forty-nine percent of the Three Broomsticks for a hefty sum of galleons on the condition that he be a silent partner, and that she hire more help, so as not to run her establishment all by her lonesome. She had already posted ads in the _Prophet_ asking for both full-time and part-time help, and within two weeks had gotten herself two new cooks, three waitresses, and – after an incident with one of the new waitresses and a patron with no concept of personal space – a pair of twin bouncers named Helga and Hiram who looked like they could have taken Made-Eye Moody with little trouble. Harry made sure to interview the bouncers himself, and was interested in finding out that they had both worked as mercenaries in their younger days. He found them both to be fairly honourable for people who killed for money, but made sure to personally add some of his own funds to their payroll to ensure their undying loyalty to Rosmerta, as well flexing his magic and allowing Kyddris to strike fear into their hearts.

Daphne's birthday had been another day of interest, as Harry abducted her from her classes and took her back to Potter Manor for breakfast with her mother. After that he had offered to take her flying, hoping to share something he loved and hadn't done in quite a while with her. When she accepted, he shocked her by transforming into a massive black wyvern with startling green eyes. He was far smaller than Kyddris, being only about fifteen feet from tip to tail, however, like Kyddris, his wingspan was far larger than his length, allowing for him to fly at great speeds alongside his familiar. Daphne had screamed joyously as Harry and Kyddris performed complex aerial maneuvers above the forests surrounding Potter Manor. Zephyr soon joined them as well, and the three of them danced through the skies high above the clouds that Zephyr had created to hide their presence.

When they finally landed and he had changed back, Daphne dragged him back to his chambers in the manor and proceeded to make him nearly forget his own name. By the time they finished, both had lost their shirts, and Harry was apologizing profusely as he repaired the torn remains of Daphne's blouse while she performed a glamour to hide the many bruises along her torso, and those around her wrists. Daphne had simply laughed and waved off his apologies.

"If you want to make it up to me, promise me that we can do that again real soon."

After a quick lunch, Harry took her into Niska Village, where they visited Kanen's shop. Despite his grouchy demeanor, the massive Native American was secretly fond of Harry and his friends, and Harry had been able to pick up that he was touched they would think to come visit him. He regaled them with stories of his youth. He hadn't attended Ilvermony (the North American equivalent to Hogwarts), but rather had been taught by members of his tribe, and later, a series of independent tutors and masters.

After about several hours of exchanging stories, they were about to leave when he called for them to wait, and disappeared into the back of his office. When he came back, he was clutching a small box in his hands. Harry watched as Daphne took the box and opened it to find a pair of hair clips inside made from silvery metal and inlaid with tiny amethysts.

"Had an urge to make something like this," Kanen explained gruffly. "Guess I know why now."

Daphne had thanked him profusely, surprising Kanen with a hug that he awkwardly returned before calling for Dobby to take the clips back to Potter Manor.

The day ended with Harry taking her back to their volcano, where he had set up another picnic with all her favourite foods. It was there that he had finally given her a book entitled _Mastering Your Inner Animal: A Guide to Animagus Transformations._

The rest of the day had been spent with another healthy dose of snogging before Harry eventually returned them to his office in Hogwarts.

Harry smiled as he thought about that day. It was now nearly the end of May, and even Daphne was starting to succumb to the stress of the upcoming OWLs. Most of her time was spent either in his office or the library, studying. There had been neither hide nor hair of Riddle since the attack on Diagon Alley, and Harry was starting to become worried that he was preparing for something big. He sat in his office contemplating this as Daphne slept off the exhaustion of all her classes. While he had the luxury of studying independently for the most part, she had to deal with the ever increasing piles of homework being assigned as the end of term drew nearer.

Sighing, he turned his attention back to the destroyed Horcrux in his hand. When he had opened the box containing the Horcrux, he found only a mangled bit of gold, and a black stone. It was clear that the two had previously been a ring before the basilisk venom in Harry's sword had damaged it beyond repair. Strangely, it was only the gold that seemed damaged, and when he removed the stone, he found it to be unnaturally cool to the touch. Holding the unblemished stone before his eyes, Harry turned it over and examined it, only to real back in shock when he saw a familiar symbol depicting a triangle with a circle and line. In hindsight, it was not terribly surprising, considering Riddle was, like him, a descendant of the Peverell line.

Harry looked from the stone to the ring on his finger. The ring was a simple gold band, with only the triangle from the Peverell crest depicted upon it. When he had asked Ragnok about after his Potter, Gryffindor, and Slytherin rings had merged together with it, Ragnok had theorised that it had to do with him being a descendant of Ignotus Peverell – the youngest of the three Peverell brothers, and the only to marry and sire legitimate heirs. Looking between the ring and the stone, Harry felt a tingle of warmth travel up his arm from the ring. Curiously, he watched his hands move of their own accord, bring the stone down to rest on top of his ring. There was a pulse of magic, and the ring seemed to become fluid around his finger as it reshaped itself around the stone. When the process was finished, the ring was still simple in its design, but there was an elegance to how it gently held the stone.

Curiously, Harry sent a tendril of his own magic to probe the newly reformed ring, and was stunned to find the ocean of power laying within it. Even with the help of the dragon core in his staff, his own magic was nothing next to whatever was being held inside the ring. Part of him wanted to explore the terrifying power, but he knew better than to mess with something that powerful without taking the proper precautions first. He knew it wouldn't hurt him, but if something were to happen that he wasn't expecting, he had no idea the kind of damage that could be caused around him. Resigning himself, Harry shrugged and stood up to join Daphne in bed, where he quickly fell asleep, dreaming of a man with shaggy black hair, and warm, grey eyes.

*(OoO)*

"So, do you know what animal you are now?" Harry asked as he and Daphne strolled down to the kitchens for lunch. Daphne smiled and flashed her fangs at two Ravenclaw girls that were glaring at her, causing them to run away. One advantage that came with everyone thinking she was a monster, was that it was now that much easier to scare off the vultures who undressed Harry with their eyes whenever he walked through the halls.

"I did. It's some sort of big cat, but I've never seen or heard of it before."

"Do you think it's a magical creature?"

"I doubt it," Daphne replied. "I showed the memory to Master Scamander, but he said that he'd never seen something like that before."

"We'll figure it out," Harry reassured her as he opened the door to the kitchens for her.

"Did Nicolas have anything useful to say about the Lady?" She asked as she took a seat.

"He said he would look into it, but not to hold out hope. Sorting fact from fiction is even harder in the Magical World than it is in the Muggle one."

Daphne watched as he fiddled with his Peverell ring, his fingers tracing over the stone as he spun it around his finger. "Any luck with that?" She asked, nodding towards the ring.

"Not yet," Harry replied. "I've never felt so much power in one place before, but it's different from the core in my staff."

"Oh?"

"The core the Horntail gave me is like an extra reserve of magic for me to draw upon if I need it. The stone, however, has intent within it. Whatever it is, it was made to do something. I just don't know what."

"Maybe your mum would know," Daphne suggested. "She's smarter than anyone else I've ever met, and she was probably educated on a bunch of the Potter family secrets when she married your dad."

"I'll think about it," Harry replied. "In the meantime, you have less than a week until your OWLs start. How are you feeling?"

"Like there's a war going on, and my mother expects to me to pass a test in order to participate," Daphne said bitterly.

"You are participating," Harry said. "You just aren't fighting the same way I am."

"No one fights the way you do."

Harry shrugged off her comment. "Sunshine, you're far more useful for the war effort learning Healing and using that beautiful brain of yours to deal with the political side of things. Leave the physical battle to us idiots who have to use weapons instead of words."

Daphne smiled despite herself. Her education in Healing had advanced by leaps and bounds under the careful tutelage of Madam Pomfrey. She watched as Harry slowly ate his sandwich, and noticed the thoughtful look on his face. There seemed to have been something on his mind for the past couple weeks and she was patiently waiting for him to be ready to discuss it with her.

"I don't think I want to live in Potter Manor."

Maintaining a calm façade, Daphne allowed a single perfectly sculpted eyebrow to raise as the only expression of shock, but still remained quiet as Harry worked through his thoughts.

"It's not that I don't like it there," he began. "It's just… I guess – I dunno – it's not what I imagine when I think of home once all this is over."

"What do you imagine?" She asked calmly.

"Something… smaller. I don't want to raise my kids in some big castle. There'd still be plenty of room for Bella, and Mum, and Tipsy, and Dobby, of course. But, I'd like something to call my own. Something I could build myself. That I could look at and know that I earned it through more than just having Potter as my last name. I know, it sounds stupid, but –"

"It sounds beautiful," Daphne reassured him, reaching over to hold his hand. "Wanting to build something all your own isn't a bad thing, Harry. And no one's telling you to demolish Potter Manor either."

Harry smiled and kissed her hand softly. Thanking the elves for their lunch, he accompanied her down to Hagrid's hut where he was standing with Wilhelmina and Newt as they prepared for class to begin. Once everyone had arrived they began working on the review of everything they had done over the year. Daphne had just thanked Tracey for her notes on Fire Crabs when there was a loud crash in the forest. Flocks of birds tried to fly away, but they barely made it out of their trees before they suddenly dropped out of the air like lead weights. There was a roar from within the forest, but it was overshadowed by another, much louder one, that shook the ground beneath their feet, coming from the direction of the Black Lake.

"Everyone, get back to the school! NOW!" Harry shouted, summoning his staff and sword as a thick, acrid green smoke started drifting from between the trees of the Forbidden Forest while fire filled the air above the Black Lake.

*(OoO)*

Harry had felt the pulse of magic of two portkeys arriving within the grounds, and frowned. There were supposed to be wards to prevent anyone entering the grounds by portkey.

Out of nowhere, the memory of his fight with the fake Alastor Moody last year shot to the forefront of his mind. The imposter had used a portkey to escape – something else that should have been impossible – and Harry remembered the feeling of something breaking, as well as the instinctual knowledge that the anti-portkey wards had been broken. But surely Dumbledore or someone else would have known and replaced them, right? There was no way that a Death Eater had escaped and informed riddle of the massive hole in the castle's defences. However, the massive dragon flying over the Black Lake, and whatever it was that had appeared in the forest begged to differ. Wilhelmina had taken the students back to the castle with orders to relay to Minerva to lock down the school, while Harry, Hagrid, and Newt stared between the forest, where the sounds of shouting indicated the centaurs trying to fight whatever it was that had appeared there, and the lake, where the gargantuan dragon was roaring angrily, spitting flames with every breath. He couldn't tell what the species of dragon was, just that it wasn't natural.

The creature was easily eighty feet in length, with dull black scales, and smoke trailed off its wings as if the beast was darkness made solid. It roared, and Harry could tell that it was screaming in pain while being forced into a frenzy. Whatever Riddle had done to it, the poor creature was not attacking of its own free will. However, that didn't matter at the moment. Raising his sword, there was a flash of light before Kyddris was speeding towards the dragon, his enormous wings eclipsing the grounds beneath him before slamming into the much larger dragon and forcing it away from the castle towards the Quidditch pitch while Zephyr followed close behind, the clear spring sky darkening in instants as he grew and summoned thunderclouds.

Trusting his closest friends to handle the dragon for now, Harry turned his attention back to the forest where two glowing yellow eyes stared at them from the shadows, and a deep rumbling growl filled the air.

"Oh no," Newt said, his face pale as the creature stepped into view. It looked like a massive leopard, with yellow and black spots covering a body that easily stood at ten feet at the shoulder. Needle-like spines sprouted from its short fur, and as its growling grew louder, its throat seemed to inflate like a bullfrog, giving it a distinctively lion-like appearance. Green smoke curled out of its mouth as it observed the three of them, and Harry got the distinct feeling that it was trying to decide which of them to kill first. "That's a Nundu. It's quite possibly the most dangerous creature alive. Whatever you do, don't inhale its toxic breath. You'll be dead in seconds."

Harry nodded and waved his hand over his face, casting a quick Bubble-Head Charm over his mouth and nose. Newt did the same for himself and Hagrid while the Nundu regarded them curiously.

"Hagrid, you and I are the ones most likely to do any damage," Harry said quietly. "If I can cut it with my sword enough, then it'll only be a matter of time until it goes down. Newt, you stay back and see if there are any spells you can think of to slow it down."

There was a flash of lightning, and the Nundu seemed to take that as a signal to attack as it leapt through the air, forcing Harry to tackle Newt out of the way, while its massive paw crashed into Hagrid, sending him careening through the wall of his hut, knocking him unconscious. Harry chanced a glance at the castle, and couldn't tell if he was relieved or not as a massive iron gate crashed down in front of the doors to the Entrance Hall. The students would be safe inside the castle, but he would be getting no help now.


	44. Chapter 44

**A/N: Going over the last few chapters, I was unhappy with the frequent use of cliff hangers one after the other. As the conclusion to this scene ended up being quite short, I've decided to just go back and add it to the end of this chapter instead of disappointing you all with a tiny blurb and a jarring transition at the start of the next. Apologies for the inconvenience, and thank you to all of you who have stuck by me this entire time. Nothing makes me happier than hearing your thoughts on what I've written and seeing people catch on to little things that I've been working towards.**

Harry dove to avoid the Nundu's jaws only to be thrown in the air as it swatted him in the ribs. Rain had started falling, and he could distantly hear Kyddris and Zephyr trying to hold off the dragon amidst the roaring winds and cracking thunder. Ignoring his protesting ribs, he twisted in the air and swung his sword down, slicing a shallow cut along the Nundu's shoulder before crashing into the ground with a wet _thump._ Newt covered for him as he struggled to his feet, but Harry could tell he was quickly losing steam. The man was nearing a century of life, and well past his prime, but he didn't stop hurling anything he could find at the Nundu, trying to keep its focus off of Harry. The Nundu roared and its toxic breath rolled across the grass, like a deadly cloud. Through sheer luck, the storm and the beast had both quieted down at just the right moment for Harry to hear the small pop behind him, giving him time to banish his mother and Tipsy away from the green fog that was about to engulf him.

Spinning back around, Harry raised gripped his sword with both arms and jabbed it up as the Nundu went to swat him again, plunging the blade through the thick pad of its paw and causing it to recoil in pain and anger. Blinking the blood out of his eyes, Harry pressed his advantage and tried to stab it once more, only to slip on the soaking wet grass and fall on his behind. Lily tried to distract the Nundu long enough to get him out of there, but her attention was split when, with another series of magic pulses, five Death Eaters appeared before them, one after the other, before Harry finally felt an Anti-Portkey ward be erected around the school. She and Newt immediately started dueling the Death Eaters, with Sirius joining in as Kreacher apparated him to the fight as well.

Unfortunately, this left Harry to deal with a very angry Nundu.

Faster than he could react, the Nundu clamped its jaws around his leg, and lifted him into the air. Screaming in pain, Harry feared that his leg would be torn clean off as the Nundu shook him about. Struggling to maintain a grip on his sword, he desperately tried to slash at it, finally succeeding when its throat inflated once more and cutting a deep gash into it that forced it to roar with pain and drop him on the ground. Slamming into the ground, Harry's vision spun as his head bounced and he slid down the slight incline towards the forest.

He tried desperately to regain his bearings, but ended up receiving a curse to his left arm that shattered the bones in his left forearm, and forcing fragments of bone to pierce out through his skin. Yelling in pain, Harry forced himself to his feet – making sure to keep his weight off his mangled left side – and faced the Nundu as it glared angrily down at him.

The Nundu roared and Harry prepared himself as it crouched down. The moment its feet left the ground, he released a roar of his own, and thrust the blade up and forward while his magic pulsed through his muscles, empowering them. All fighting ceased as the combatants watched as Harry Potter once again performed the impossible. With magic flowing off him in tidal waves of energy, and dark, baleful energy swirling angrily around his sword, he stabbed the Nundu in the neck, just below its jaw, and with a roar not unlike that of the beast he fought, he twisted in place and crouched down, causing the fallen creature to tumble over him and crash into the nearby trees with a sickening crack.

Their morale wavering, the Death Eaters were unprepared to fend off Sirius, Lily, and Newt's assault, and quickly fell, with only one managing to attempt escape with his emergency portkey – only to find it not working before he fell to a quick Reductor to the chest that shattered his sternum and flung him into a thick tree trunk, breaking his spine.

Wasting no time, Harry mentally called for Zephyr, and vanished in a flash of lightning. He reappeared atop Kyddris' back as he and Zephyr attempted to hold off the possessed dragon. Harry could see multiple wounds on both dragons, and one of Zephyr's wings had been broken, but it was clear that the massive invader was unconcerned with any sort of injuries it might attain in its quest to destroy everything around it.

 _"DESTROY! DESTROY!"_ The dragon roared as it reared its massive head back and clamped its jaws around Kyddris' shoulder. Something was wrong with that dragon. Not even the Horntail, who had been driven to insanity from the grief of losing her children was that far gone. Knowing that Riddle had to have a hand in it, Harry frowned in confusion as he and Kyddris forced it to release him before Kyddris swung his tail around and sliced it across the face. By all accounts, the blades on the end of Kyddris' should have cleaved the black dragon's head in two – but, instead he only managed to graze its snout before there was a loud bang and a flash of light and they were thrown spiraling through the air.

 _"There's something on its head!"_ Kyddris informed him as they righted themselves while Zephyr kept the other dragon from pressing its advantage.

Harry summoned his staff and focused on the dragon. He was surprised by how difficult it was to find the dragon's own magic, as it was hidden behind the dark, smoky substance that surrounded it. It wasn't until he looked closer at the massive, horned head of the beast that he realised there was something on its head, right in the center of its forehead, that was siphoning the dragon's magic and creating the dark substance.

 _"Get me on its head!"_ Harry shouted. _"I might be able to stop it!"_ He could already feel the drain from all the energy, magic, and blood he had lost, but he forced himself to hold on as Kyddris flapped his titanic wings. The winds created were enough to slightly destabilize the other dragon as Kyddris rose high above it before tucking his wings in and diving at blistering speeds. In a matter of seconds, they honed in on the other dragon, and Kyddris slammed into its back, sinking his claws into its back while his tail wound around to stab one of its blades into the stomach, and his teeth clamped around its neck. The force of the impact created a loud _boom_ that echoed through the grounds, and the other dragon roared angrily, desperately flapping its wings to fight the massive downwards force of four tons of dragon slamming into it at nearly the speed of sound. Limping across Kyddris' neck, he hopped from his head to the other dragon's, and summoned his staff while performing sticking charms on his feet.

He looked around the black scales of the creature's head, and after several seconds, finally found what he was looking for. There, in the middle of its head, was a large black gemstone covered in runes and implanted grotesquely into the dragons flesh. Hissing in Parseltongue, Harry called on as much of his own, his staff's, Zephyr's, and Kyddris' magic as he could and raised his staff high above his head. The magic converged within him and grew until he felt like he would explode with the restrained power inside his body. At that exact moment, he slammed the staff down onto the stone, while simultaneously, both dragons slammed into the burning stands surrounding the Quidditch pitch. The force of the impact was enough to force him back into the air as the gemstone exploded, and the dark magic surrounding the dragon vanished, causing it to shrink beneath Kyddris, while its matte black scales changed to a glittering pearly colour.

"Zephyr, could you take her somewhere safe, where we can explain what happened?" Harry asked tiredly as he was snatched out of the air and placed safely back on the ground.

Zephyr nodded and transported the dragon away in a flash of lightning, while Harry limped back over to his familiar.

"I'm proud of you buddy."

 _"And I of you."_

Smiling, Harry slowly climbed onto Kyddris' neck and allowed him to carry him back to the castle, where the lockdown had been lifted, and a crowd of students and teachers waited to greet him. It wasn't until he was nearly at the castle that he recognised the feeling of something missing. That feeling soon turned to dread when Tracey and Blaise sprinted up to meet him with looks of despair on their faces.

"Harry! They took her!" Tracey screamed. "They took Daphne!"

*(OoO)*

"Daphne. Daphne! Sweetheart, wake up!"

Daphne groaned as she forced her eyes to open. There was a sticky substance trailing down the side of her head, behind her ear, and her head felt like it had been split open and clumsily forced back together again. She noticed a pressure around her chest, and looked down to see she was tied to a chair.

"Daphne! Oh, thank goodness! You're awake!"

Looking around, Daphne noticed that she was in a large ballroom. The pristine floor tiles, and massive, sparkling windows seemed familiar to her, but considering she had been to more balls than she could count before she even started at Hogwarts, it was difficult to place where this one was from. The room was incredibly dim, and she had to strain her eyes to see around her, but even in the dark, the polished surfaces of the ballroom seemed to shimmer. Next to her sat an unconscious Astoria, while about thirty feet away, tied to another chair against the wall, was her mother. As if at the flip of a switch, her foggy mind finally caught up to her situation and she started struggling desperately against her bonds.

"Mum? What's going on? Where are we?"

"It'll be alright, Sweetheart," Penelope said, her shaky voice echoing the lie off the shining surfaces of the ballroom.

Daphne looked inward and tried to feel Harry through their connection. She could just barely feel the fringes of his emotions, and her memory started to come back to her as she deduced that he was in the middle of a fight.

She remembered Wilhelmina rushing her and the rest of her class up towards the castle as Harry, Hagrid, and Newt squared off against whatever it was that was in the forest. The Entrance Hall of the castle was sheer pandemonium as students tried to retreat to safety while also finding a front row seat to what was about to happen. Struggling against the crowd, she had tried to at least find Tracey before going after Astoria to make sure she was alright, but the hysteria was too great for her to navigate, and she wound up thrown to the ground and kicked in the head. After that, she only remembered brief flashes of light and screaming before there was a strange tugging sensation behind her navel and she was engulfed in darkness.

"Mum? Daphne? What's going on?" Astoria mumbled as she slowly woke up.

"Tori, baby, I need you to keep your eyes closed for me," Penelope pleaded.

"What? Why?" Astoria asked.

"Just do what Mum says, Tori," Daphne said, the reality of her situation settling in. She could still feel Harry, which meant that she was probably still in Britain, but it would be quite some time until anyone noticed that she was missing. It would take even longer to find her, and, until then, she needed to do everything she could to make sure that she and her family survived. "Please. Just keep your eyes closed and don't open them no matter what you hear."

Astoria seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and squeezed her eyes shut tight.

"How did they get you?" Penelope asked.

"There was an attack on Hogwarts," Daphne explained. "I've no idea how they got past the wards, but they sent in a couple of dangerous creatures, and I got knocked out in the chaos."

"They grabbed me as I was heading up from the dungeons," Astoria added.

"They bribed some goblins at Gringotts to get access to me," Penelope concluded.

"If they knew that you'd be at Gringotts," Daphne began but she was interrupted as the massive doors to the ballroom were thrown open, and she knew why this place seemed familiar. They hadn't hosted a ball themselves for years, causing the room to stand all but forgotten, but the foyer she glimpsed through the doors was unmistakeable.

They were in Greengrass Manor.

Harsh light poured through the open doors, casting their kidnapper in shadow as he strode confidently into the room, but even before her eyes had adjusted enough to see the frigid blue she used to share, she knew it was Cyrus Greengrass nee Temple staring at her with contempt. Anger filled her as she stared into the eyes of the person who had sullied the title of father for her for the first fifteen years of her life.

"Daughter."

"You're not my father," Daphne hissed. She could feel the hints of a craving coming on, and, without meaning to, her fangs grew as she snarled at the man angrily.

"So, it would seem the rumors are true," Cyrus noted. "The bastard my whore of a wife sired is nothing more than a half-breed."

"Let me out of these ropes, and I'll show you just how much of my birth father I inherited," Daphne spat. She could feel the rope straining against her arms, but she still couldn't break them no matter how hard she tried.

"You'd best behave," Cyrus warned. "I wouldn't want to punish my new pet so soon."

"Leave them alone, Cyrus," Penelope shouted. Cyrus smirked as he walked over to stand in front of Penelope, his wand tip underneath her chin as he forced her to look up into his eyes.

"You always were too loud for a proper wife. No doubt, I'll have to work on that with our daughter."

"If you so much as touch my sister, I'll tear you to shreds!" Daphne shouted.

"Quite the threat, coming from one in your position," Cyrus said. "Perhaps I should educate you on the proper way to address your betters. After all, a nice toy ought to curry me quite a bit of favour from the Dark Lord."

"I'd rather die."

Cyrus looked over his shoulder and smirked at her. "So be it. _Avada Kedavra."_

Daphne shut her eyes to prepare for the inevitable, and the flash of green was so bright she could see it through her eyelids as a whooshing sound filled the air. She waited several seconds, and when nothing happened, she opened her eyes only to scream in shock as she looked into the blank, glassy eyes of her mother sitting slumped in her chair, staring fondly at her and Astoria.

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" She screamed. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

"Mum?" Astoria asked weakly. "Mum, are you okay?"

That damnable smirk never once left his face as he turned and strode over to grab her by the hair, forcing her head up.

"Keep your eyes closed, Tori!" Daphne shouted. "No matter what happens, do not open them!"

"Daphne, I'm scared," Astoria whimpered.

"I know, Tori. But don't worry, everything's going to be okay. You'll see."

"By all means, keep talking," Cyrus said. "But you should consider whether you really want your last words to be a lie."

"Fuck you."

"A bitch to the very end. So be it."

"Daphne?!" Astoria cried. There were tears streaming down her face, and Daphne could see that she was hyperventilating.

"Just keep your eyes closed, Tori," Daphne said softly. She smiled as she tried to burn the image of her beautiful, annoying, perfect sister into her mind one last time. "I love you."

She ignored the pain of Cyrus yanking her hair even farther back, and focused only on the image of her sister as she closed her eyes. Idly, she thought that it would be nice to meet Harry's father. She felt Cyrus pull his wand away from her throat, but didn't listen as he said the incantation. She was already looking forward to seeing her mother again. Hopefully Harry would forgive her for leaving him.

The flash of green once more lit up her eyelids, but this time, there was no whooshing sound. Instead, there was a loud cracking sound and a pop, followed by screaming as Cyrus yanked her hair even harder, forcing her eyes open.

"What did you do to me?!" He shrieked, indicating the shards of steaming ice protruding from his shoulder and ribs.

Seeing an opportunity, Daphne pushed as hard as she could until she eventually felt the ropes snap under the force of her enhanced muscles. Flinging her hand up, she felt something shoot out of it, causing her to fall forward, slamming her knees into the hard floor painfully, while Cyrus screamed even more. Her head felt strangely light, and turning around, she saw why, as there was a pile of golden blonde hair on the ground, along with two of Cyrus' fingers.

"You little cunt!" Cyrus screamed. "You'll die for this!"

"NO!" Daphne felt a massive wave of raw magic wash over her, and watched as Cyrus was lifted up off the ground and slammed into the wall near her mother with a sickening crunch. His body twitched gruesomely, and blood started to pool beneath his head.

"Daphne?" Astoria called out. "What's going on? Can I open my eyes?"

"Just keep them closed a little longer, Tori," Daphne said as she stood up and walked over to Cyrus.

 _She'll be charged with patricide for this,_ Daphne thought numbly. _They might not send her to Azkaban, but she'll be forced out of the family. She'll be vulnerable._

Rage filled Daphne at that point, and she looked down into Cyrus' eyes. She could tell that he was just barely aware of what was going on around him, and smiled cruelly, baring her fangs as she crouched down next to his ear.

"I told you," she whispered. Without another word, she opened her mouth and sunk her teeth into the side of his neck. What spilled onto her tongue could only be described as one of the most foul substances she ever had the displeasure of tasting. It was almost as if she could _taste_ how evil of a man Cyrus Temple was. Regardless, she soldiered through, and kept on feasting. She made sure to bite him several times, gruesome and disgusting as it was, in order to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that she was the one who killed Cyrus Greengrass.

The deed done, she searched his robes for her and Tori's wands and reached over to gently close her mother's eyes before getting to her feet and walking over to Tori and cutting the ropes. As carefully as she could, she led Tori out of the ballroom, and into the foyer, closing the doors behind her before allowing Astoria to open her eyes. She tried mentally calling for Rosie, but got no response.

 _Must be too far from Hogwarts,_ she figured.

She contemplated calling Dobby or Tipsy, but she knew that the Greengrass Estate was one of the few that had taken measures to prevent other elves from coming if need be. Sighing in defeat, she was about to head for the Floo when a series of pops from outside could be heard. Looking outside, she saw some twenty Death Eaters marching towards the manor, led by a pale-skinned man with glowing red eyes.

Grabbing some Floo Powder, she tossed it into the fireplace, only for nothing to happen.

They were trapped.

"Daphne? What do we do?"

Daphne's mind raced as she considered her options while Riddle and his followers approached the house. The ward stones in Cyrus' office would never accept her now that she had willingly killed him. For a brief moment of insanity, she wondered if she could drag Astoria there, give her a comprehensive education on ward stones, teach her how to use them, and have her lower the ward preventing house-elves from apparating there all before the… _thing_ walking slowly towards the door got there.

 _That's what Harry has been fighting?_ She thought to herself. If Voldemort's bone-white skin, red eyes, and serpentine features weren't enough to fuel her nightmares, the sheer _power_ he radiated was. It was nothing like Harry's magic. Even when fighting his hardest, or being fueled by his darkest emotions, Harry's magic always carried an undercurrent of comfort. What she felt coming off Voldemort was oppressive, and malefic, and monstrous.

Fear filled her veins, the likes of which she hadn't even come close to feeling while trapped in Cyrus' clutches.

 _Run._

The thought was strange, and definitely not her own. It was a foreign presence in her mind, but it filled her with warmth and a sense of security.

 _Go out the back and run to the edge of the wards._

It wasn't a thought. It was a voice. A man's voice.

Grabbing Astoria's arm, she pulled her sister through the house, sprinting to the kitchens and bursting through the door at the back of the manor.

 _The forest,_ the man said. _You'll be safe in the forest._

Without stopping, she and Astoria sprinted towards the forest behind Greengrass Manor. As a child, she used to think that it was the most magical place in the world, but now, as she heard an explosion behind her, it only looked like a lesser of two evils. Her lungs burned, and she was practically dragging Astoria over the grounds as they approached the tree line. The first spells were being fired her way when they broke through the trees, causing one to explode just to her left, splinters and debris slashing her face as she pushed Astoria out of the way.

 _Just a bit farther,_ the man encouraged as they continued running into the looming shadows of the canopy. _You're nearly there._

Daphne had taken to chanting Dobby's name with every exhale, hoping to summon him at the first possible moment. Her chanting paid off when a Blasting Hex sent her and Astoria flying, knocking the breath out of her lungs, and she suddenly felt as if she was being squeezed from all sides before landing in a familiar pair of arms.

"I've got you, Sunshine," Harry whispered in her ear. "You're safe now."


	45. Chapter 45

Harry sat on the edge of the bed in Grimmauld Place, and watched as Daphne held her little sister close to her chest. He had wanted to take the sisters to Potter Manor, but he and Sirius were starting to become wary of international travel via magic. Potter Manor may have been on its own Floo network, but he couldn't risk revealing the location of any of the safe houses that connected it to the rest of the world. In the end, he had Dobby bring them all to Sirius' old place, and had hissed a powerful ward on the door to the kitchen, keeping the Order of the Phoenix there while he attended to the sisters.

It turned out that was for the best, as Dumbledore, and many others, were intent on interrogating Daphne and Astoria about what happened, and why Riddle would have them kidnapped. Before she had fallen asleep, Daphne had asked Harry to watch her memory of the event, so that he could field the questions for her, which Harry had easily agreed to, happy to finally feel like he was doing something for her after feeling so helpless.

It had hurt him to watch as Penelope was murdered simply to make an example, and he couldn't help but feel a swell of affection and pride for his girlfriend when she accepted the responsibility of finishing Cyrus off so that Astoria wouldn't fall victim to the many consequences that came from a member of a family killing their head. He was as confused as she was as to who the strange voice she had heard was, but was grateful nonetheless. The sight of Riddle was enough to make the most hardened person freeze, and it was thanks to that voice that Daphne had been able to regain her wits and get out of Greengrass Manor with Astoria before the Riddle and his Death Eaters got there.

He was running his fingers through Daphne's now shortened hair when he heard the door creak open and looked up to see his own mother creeping in.

"Isn't it kind of risky for you to be here?" He asked.

"That spell you cast on the kitchen was stronger than you were expecting, I think," Lily replied as she conjured a chair in front of him and placed her hand on his knee. "How are you doing?"

"My arm was the only magical injury, but even that didn't take long for Poppy to fix up," Harry said flatly. "I'm still a little sore though."

"Well that's to be expected from single-handedly taking on two of the most dangerous creatures in existence," Lily quipped.

"It wasn't single-handed," Harry retorted. "You, Sirius, and Newt were helping me with the Nundu, while Kyd and Zephyr did most of the work with the dragon."

"Maybe," Lily conceded, choosing not to argue with her son's infamous modesty. "But we both know that I wasn't talking about your physical health in the first place."

Harry sighed and looked into his mother's green eyes, finding nothing but affection, support, and something else that made his chest tighten before turning back to Daphne and cupping her tearstained cheek in his palm. "I don't know what to do," he admitted. "I don't remember anything from before you and Dad… from before I went to the Dursleys."

"And you're worried you won't be able to understand what they're going through," Lily said. Harry nodded, never taking his eyes off Daphne's face until he felt his mother squeeze his leg and looked back into the same eyes he saw every time he looked in the mirror. "Harry, since you've allowed me back into your life, I've observed one very special thing about you. More than how well you did on your NEWTs, or how many Dark Lords you've defeated, one thing has made me more proud than I ever thought possible."

"What?" Harry asked.

"Your love, Harry," Lily replied softly, a small smile lighting her face. "I may not know the details, but from what I understand of everything you've been through, you would have been well within your rights to want to see the world burned asunder. Hell, I would've joined you in a heartbeat if that was what you chose to do. Instead, you've become the bravest, kindest, strongest man I've ever met. You've endured _so_ much, and when presented with the opportunity to inflict that same pain on others, you made the harder choice and decided to protect them from going through what you have."

"A lot of good that did Penelope," Harry muttered bitterly.

"I know it can be hard to accept, Sweetheart, but it's the reality of war," Lily said. "People close to you die. Usually without a lick of warning. But there's a reason we call it soldiering on. Daphne is going to be facing many more hardships now than ever before, and you need to be by her side through all of it. It doesn't matter that you don't understand exactly what she's going through. Even with that special connection between the two of you, I doubt you, or anyone else ever will. Just as no one else can understand what you went through after your father and I were killed. What matters, is that you are there."

Harry was quiet as he thought about what his mother had said. He knew that he would always try his best to be there for Daphne come hell or high water. This wouldn't be any different.

"Speaking of Kyddris and Zephyr," Lily said, trying to get his mind off things. "Where are they?" She pointed at the muscle shirt Harry was dressed in, indicating the lack of dragon tattoo on his chest.

"The dragon Riddle sent was being forced to attack under the influence of some sort of dark magic. Kyd and Zephyr took her away so that she could recuperate before we ask her some questions," Harry explained. "Once I'm sure Daphne and Tori don't need me here, Newt and I are going to go take a look at her wounds and see if she's ready to talk yet."

"How are Kyddris and Zephyr's injuries doing?"

"Zephyr's wing is still broken, so he's remaining in his shrunken form while his magic repairs it. Kyd took some nasty hits from that other dragon, but thanks to the changes he'd been making to his body, he got off a lot better than a regular dragon would have. Once he joins back with me, our magic will get rid of any residual traces of dark magic, after which he'll be fine in a day or two."

"That's good to hear," Lily said. "The potions are just about finished for the heist, by the way, but there's still plenty of time to wait until they're both in top form. Which reminds me, there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

"What is it?" Harry asked.

"You remember the coven I was helping when you found me?" Lily asked. Harry nodded and she continued, "I received a message from them, saying that the Oracle has been asking for you. They're hiding her at a Veela enclave in France."

Harry narrowed his eyes and stared at his mother as she fidgeted in her seat. "What aren't you telling me, Mum?"

Lily sighed in defeat and slouched in her chair, though she was still unable to meet his eyes. "There's a… there's a pack of werewolves in France as well, and I've decided to accompany Sirius and Remus in going to negotiate with them."

"Why would you go?" Harry demanded, reminding himself to be quiet for the sake of the sisters sleeping next to him. "I know Uncle Moony is a good friend, but if anyone should go, it's me! I'm the only other one with Lycanthropy, and werewolves hate humans. You're not even an Animagus."

"Speaking to the Oracle takes precedence Harry," Lily said sternly. "The Oracle of Delphi is an entity that's thousands of years old, if it wants to speak with you, you need to see it."

"Why can't I just go after?"

"Because, the Oracle isn't one to simply invite someone over for tea," Lily said. "If its current host is asking for you, then whatever she has to say will no doubt be of vital importance in moving forward, meaning that you won't have time for a detour to visit some werewolves afterward. That's why I'll be going as your representative along with Sirius and another werewolf that Remus met who benefitted from that affordable Wolfsbane plan you set up."

"Won't that involve revealing yourself, though?" Harry asked.

"The time for that kind of subterfuge is coming to an end, Harry," Lily said. "Today's attack on Hogwarts was an open declaration of war. You need to start building alliances."

"What about Dumbledore?"

"Magical Britain seems determined to see you as a villain, Harry," Lily informed him. "The _Prophet_ is already downplaying your achievement by blaming you and Newton for bringing a Nundu onto Hogwarts grounds, and vilifying you for not thinking of the collateral damage that would result from the fight between two dragons."

"I'm the one who ordered the students be taken inside and the castle be locked down!" Harry exclaimed, blushing in embarrassment when Astoria muttered in her sleep at the noise.

"Minerva told me that you were thinking about leaving Hogwarts," Lily said carefully after he had taken a few deep breaths to calm down. "Have you given it any more consideration?"

"Yeah," Harry said. "Daphne and I were thinking of leaving after she got her OWLs. The only problem I had was leaving Luna, Neville, Tracey and the others, but they've all supported our decision."

"Then, would you be amenable to accepting a position at Beauxbatons?" Lily asked.

Harry's jaw dropped and he stared wide-eyed at his smiling mother. "I've been offered a job? At Beauxbatons?"

"Your NEWT results are a matter of public record," Lily said. "The fact that Minerva, Sirius, and Poppy have all declared that they're leaving if you do, sweetens the pot even more."

"What about my Masteries? And Severus?"

"Severus needs to stay at Hogwarts to maintain his image as both Dumbledore and Riddle's spy. If he suddenly left, Riddle would have no more use for him, and would go after him," Lily explained. "As for your Masteries; you'll still be able to learn under myself and Minerva, but the other ones were always a cover to keep you from being forced out of Hogwarts. You can always come back after this is all over, though. Or, if you want, I'm fairly sure a number of Masters in France would be happy to take you under their wing."

"And what does Madame Maxime want me to teach?" Harry asked.

"Whatever you want," Lily said. "The French Ministry is far more appreciative of your contributions to the war effort than the British. They're aware of the British Ministry's efforts to slander and discredit you, and with Riddle's forces occupying more and more of continental Europe every day, they're willing to do whatever they can to have you positioned to keep their children safe."

"You make it sound like I'm Dumbledore or something," Harry muttered bashfully.

"That's because people are starting to regard you the same way they used to see him," Lily said. "Their media has actually been following the smear campaign against you. Suffice to say it's making the French more than a little hesitant in offering their help to Britain."

Harry sat there and considered it. Being done with Dumbledore and the Ministry's attempts at manipulation while a war was going on was extremely tempting. But could he really leave Hogwarts behind, just like that? Hogwarts had always been the one place that he could call home. Where he was free from the cruelties of his past, and was connected to his parents.

 _Is it though?_ He thought to himself. He may have thought so during his first couple years, but things had changed since then. He had been attacked by a stray werewolf, and because of that, met Zephyr and Tipsy, and discovered Potter Manor. After that, Hogwarts had changed for him. His two best friends had turned on him, and instead he had found himself growing closer to three _Slytherins,_ of all things. His circle of friends then continued to expand, for which he was incredibly grateful, but after spending six months in the Time Dilation Chamber with Griphook before the term had started, and having access to the expansive libraries of his various titles, Hogwarts had simply turned into a place for him to live during the scholastic year.

In fact, it had been nearly two years since Harry had even been attending Hogwarts under the pretense of being a _student._

In the end, though, his decision was made for him when he heard a light creaking of floorboards, and turned his head to watch Bella tiredly sneak into the room and climb into bed with him, Daphne, and Astoria. If he was being presented with the opportunity to provide Bella and Astoria with safe places to receive their educations while he trained Daphne, then he had a responsibility to take it. Bella, in particular, had been blessed with the chance to live the life she had been robbed of her first time around. He had a duty to make sure she didn't have that chance taken away or soiled because of the machinations of an old man or a corrupt government.

"I'll need to talk to Daphne and Astoria," he said. "But I'll consider it."

"That's all any of us can ask of you, Sweetheart," Lily said with a soft smile as she stood up, vanished the chair, and kissed him on the forehead before leaving.

*(OoO)*

It was a harsh reminder of Daphne and Astoria's upbringing when neither showed any outwards sign of distress the next morning. Harry could still feel the maelstrom of pain swirling around in Daphne, but said nothing. He smiled when he had wrapped his arms around her and Astoria, and felt them both relax to the point where a small wet spot had appeared where Astoria's face was buried in his shirt. When they pulled back, though, they were both still perfectly composed, but Harry could feel the storm in Daphne's heart had settled somewhat. Her mask had even dropped enough for her to smile fondly when the sound of voices downstairs woke Bella up with a decidedly unladylike snort, and she muttered grumpily about finding a nice comfy cave away from them all.

"Before we go down," Harry said. "There's something I'd like to discuss with the three of you."

None of them said anything, but Daphne's raised eyebrow as she squeezed his hand indicated for him to continue.

"Last night, my mother told me that I've been offered a position at Beauxbatons –"

"We want to," Astoria said, cutting him off. Harry blinked in confusion and she smiled sadly. "You're about to ask us if we want to go with you to France. We want to."

Harry turned from Astoria to Bella, who was fighting a yawn even as she nodded eagerly before turning to Daphne.

Daphne smiled and placed a soft kiss on his lips, her affection for him flowing freely between them. "Wherever you go, I'll be there with you." Harry beamed and kissed her once more, enjoying the feeling of taking her mind off things for a moment or two. "We can discuss the details later. First we need breakfast."

"Do you want to eat it here, or head back to the manor?" Harry asked.

"Back at the Manor. I'm not about to deal with any of Dumbledore's flunkies."

Harry grinned and scooped Bella into his arms. He enjoyed being able to carry the girl like this – especially when her tail would reach out to try and wind around one of his legs or his waist – and was already dreading the day when she wouldn't need him around anymore. He covered her with his discarded robe, and she was happily snoozing by the time they entered the study and used the fireplace there to Floo to Potter Manor.

His mother met him, accompanied by Tipsy, who carried a tray of potions Lily had apparently invented soon after moving into the manor with his father that would properly enable them to deal with the time difference between Banff and London.

After downing the potions, they all sat down for some late-night breakfast, being joined by Sirius halfway through. The conversation remained on lighter topics before Harry felt a mental nudge coming from Zephyr, who was in a cave with Kyddris and the other dragon in a nearby mountain range.

"Zephyr just told me the other dragon is awake," he informed them as he stood up and kissed Daphne on the cheek. "Sirius, can you come with me? I'd like to have someone watching my back until I'm back in top form."

Sirius nodded, understanding that Harry also wanted to give Daphne and Astoria some space, and stood up to join him as they made their way out the back of the manor, grabbing a broom along the way. Tossing his Invisibility Cloak to Sirius, Harry changed into a wyvern and launched himself into the air, quickly climbing to a point where he would like nothing more than a fuzzy shape in the afternoon sky that would easily be mistaken for a small plane. He knew Sirius was flying somewhere around him, and delighted in the startled yelp off to his right when he banked hard towards where he smelled his godfather flying nearby. In no time at all, they were soaring above the peaks of the Rocky Mountains towards the cave where Zephyr, Kyddris, and the other dragon were. He and Sirius had to fly over the cave twice as they waited for a group of Muggles hiking nearby to move on.

With the coast clear, they landed and Harry quickly changed back before he and Sirius put up a series of anti-detection wards. Once properly inside, they were greeted by loud growling, and Harry ran in to find Kyddris curled up on one side of a massive chamber – the old wooden supports around the edges of the many tunnels connecting to the chamber told him that they were in an abandoned mine of some sort – while Zephyr perched on a small outcropping above him, keeping an eye on the other dragon as she growled warningly.

 _"Finally, someone I like,"_ Kyddris grumbled, ignoring Zephyr's squawk of indignation. _"All it's been is threats of castration while the rooster sitting above me cawed in amusement."_

Harry smiled and pressed his head against his familiar's snout, smiling as he felt Kyddris' happiness at seeing him again. _"How are your wounds?"_ He asked.

 _"I can already feel our magic cleansing them now that you're here."_

Harry stroked Kyddris' snout, and scratched underneath his chin for a moment before turning to the source of the ground shaking beneath his feat. The other dragon looked much different now that Riddle's corruptive influence had been purged. She had shrunken down to being about the same length of Kyddris, but that was where the similarities ended. Unsurprisingly, her wings were nowhere near the size of Kyddris' own, and her body was much and slender compared to his own chiseled muscle. Her snout was longer than his, though, with what could only be described as fins protruding from the back of her head where Kyddris had a series of curved horns. Her scales were no longer the dull, matte black they had been, and, while Kyddris looked like he had skin made of glittering silver metal, her pearly scales were bewitching, making Harry imagine she was a living jewel. The most noticeable trait, though, were her eyes – which were a dark, glittering violet, and seemingly lacked any pupils.

 _"Human!"_ She roared. _"You and your kind will pay for stealing me from my nest!"_

 _"He wasn't the one who abducted you,"_ Kyddris hissed irritably. _"In fact, you'd do well to show him respect for saving your life."_

 _"What would you know of respect, Hatchling?"_ The female snarled. _"Who do you think you are?"_

 _"I am the one who beat you while my brother-in-soul freed you from that dark wizard's control,"_ Kyddris rumbled.

 _"You? Besting me? Please,"_ she scoffed. _"It will take more than lies if you wish to be taken as my mate, Hatchling."_

 _"Believe what you want,"_ Kyddris replied indifferently, turning his head away to properly curl up. _"However, I'd sooner submit to the rooster than call you Alpha."_

 _"Kyd,"_ Harry warned. _"That's enough."_

 _"Yes, Brother,"_ Kyddris replied petulantly.

Harry smirked and scratched behind one of Kyddris' horns while turning to address the female.

 _"Do you have a name?"_

 _"Our names are a symbol of age and control over the instincts of our youth,"_ the female hissed angrily. _"You are not worthy of knowing my name, Human. Even if your pet Hatchling has told you his."_

 _"Kyddris isn't my pet,"_ Harry retorted angrily. _"He is my brother, and future Alpha of his own clan."_

 _"And what self-respecting dragon would submit to the likes of a Hatchling who colludes with humans?"_

 _"Funny, considering, of the three dragons I've had the honour of meeting, you're the only one who's actually managed to lose my respect."_

 _"Then you've only seen poor examples of what a dragon should be,"_ the female replied haughtily.

Harry only just had time to pull Sirius out of the way before Kyddris had crossed the fifty or so meters separating him and the female, and grabbed her by the throat with one of his forelegs, before hurling her bodily to the ground and pouncing on top of her. The female tried to fight him off, but Kyddris was too strong and had quickly sunk his teeth into her neck, forcing her to stay still with a growl that Harry didn't need Parseltongue to translate. Holding back on his own anger, he summoned his staff and slowly walked over to crouch in front of the female's amethyst eye.

 _"As I said, you're the third dragon I've had the honour of meeting,"_ he hissed threateningly, pulsing magic through the core at the top of his staff. The female's eyes widened as she recognised the core for what it was, and her eye moved rapidly between it, Harry, and Kyddris in shock and confusion. _"The first was Kyddris, whom I took care of as an egg and hatched in my arms – bonding to me as my familiar and carrying a part of my soul within him. The second was a female, like yourself. She too, had been taken from her nest by humans who thought they could control her and treat her like an animal. Only, her eggs were taken too. The separation from their mother cost the hatchlings their lives and drove the mother to madness. She and I were then forced to fight, all for the entertainment of other humans as well. When I granted her wish, and provided her with one last fight before sending her to her children, she gifted me with her very core. To this day, she is the one creature on this world that I am the most honoured to have had the privilege of meeting. At the moment, I've not punished you for your insults against my brother because it would deprive him the opportunity to finally have another of his kind to call friend; but speak ill of that poor mother – whose life was unfairly taken away in the name of human entertainment – again, and neither of us will show you any mercy."_

Standing back up, he and Kyddris returned to where he had been curled up, and he took a seat against the warm scales of his brother's side.

 _"Vaulora."_

 _"Pardon?"_ Harry asked, watching as she rolled to her feet and slowly returned to her original resting place as well.

 _"My name,"_ she clarified. _"I am called Vaulora."_

Kyddris huffed indifferently and curled up tighter around himself, though Harry could tell that it was mostly out of embarrassment at Harry revealing his desire to befriend Vaulora. _"Nice to meet you."_


	46. Chapter 46

It took quite a bit of work for Daphne to convince Harry that she was fit to write her OWLs. He had insisted, however, that she take them at the Ministry, which she happily agreed to, seeing as neither she nor Astoria were eager to return to Hogwarts once they learned how people were reacting to the attack. It seemed, somehow, that all the blame was yet again falling on the wrong shoulders, and the news that there were people blaming Madam Bones for the attack quickly reaffirmed her resolve to leave Hogwarts – and Britain – behind. After two full days of examinations, her OWLs were over, and Daphne had returned to Potter Manor exhausted and jet lagged. What had surprised her, though, was when Tracey's parents, Alannah and Edmund, came to her asking if they should take Tracey out of Hogwarts as well. She had told them honestly that she no longer felt it was safe for her and Astoria there, and that they were both planning to accompany Harry to France to finish their educations. She also followed that up with telling them that whatever decision they made, had to be made with Tracey's involvement before going out to find Harry.

In the three weeks since the attack, Harry had recovered remarkably well, thanks to Madam Pomfrey. It hadn't taken her long at all to get him back into shape where he could continue fighting, but there was a difference between healing and patching up, and the down time had afforded Harry the rest he needed to properly recover while he and Kyddris acquainted themselves with Vaulora, the Antipodean Opaleye he had freed from Riddle's control. It was clear even without the use of Parseltongue that Vaulora was not used to being humbled by the likes of Kyddris. Harry relayed how she constantly referred to him as Hatchling, in order to rub in one of the few things she could hold over him: her age. Apparently, Kyddris was more of an exception when it came to dragons than they thought, as most dragons his age were still little more than wild animals, and nowhere near as grown as he was. Vaulora herself was apparently well into her twenties, and had only recently shed most of her more base behaviours.

This, of course, led to another point of contention between the two, which was the fact that Vaulora was clearly used to being the one in charge, and constantly made her displeasure at the disruption of what she thought was a natural hierarchy known, annoying both Harry and Kyddris while Zephyr seemed to find the entire thing far too amusing.

Sitting down between Harry's legs, a raised eyebrow from him as she approached was all that was needed to ask whether she was ready to talk about what had happened at Greengrass Manor. Likewise, a sad smile and a shake of the head was all it took for him to drop the matter and simply wrap his arms around her waist. She knew it wasn't healthy to bottle up what she was feeling, but she just couldn't find it in her. Intellectually, she knew she should be distraught, but other than a few tears that first night as she held a sobbing Astoria in her bed, Daphne felt as if it simply wasn't the right time to mourn. Her mother wasn't the first, and she wouldn't be the last. There would be time for crying later.

"When do we leave?" She asked.

"Around midnight," Harry replied. "That should get us to Gringotts just after eight. If all goes according to plan, we should be in France by the end of the day."

"You know, most girls would be worried about taking their boyfriend to an enclave of veela," she noted teasingly.

Harry chuckled and pulled her closer to him. "Worried because I'd fall for one of them, or because I'd take out the frustration caused by their collective allure on you?"

"Please," Daphne scoffed, focusing on her temptation and making Harry groan as he buried his face in her short locks. "I don't need a veela to frustrate you." She smirked as she felt him harden against her and turned her head to kiss him deeply. His hands were just starting to wander up her shirt when a snort from Vaulora interrupted them.

"She said that we should at least find ourselves a decent cave before mating," Harry translated as Vaulora glared at them balefully.

"I didn't know that dragons could get jealous of human relationships," Daphne shot back, smirking when Vaulora reared back in outrage only for a soft growl from Kyddris – who hadn't even opened his eyes while they leaned against him – to cut her off.

 _I wonder how long it will take before the tension between the two of them becomes too much,_ Zephyr said as he fluttered down to land on Daphne's shoulder as Vaulora and Kyddris seemed to engage in yet another argument.

"If Kyddris is anything like Harry," Daphne replied. "It could be years."

"Hey!" Harry exclaimed in indignation while Kyddris rolled his eye and turned away. Daphne laughed, and was grateful for the much-needed levity that Zephyr brought with him. Shaking his head with a fond smile, Harry pressed a kiss against her temple before addressing the thunderbird. "Did you find a suitable place for Vaulora?"

 _I did,_ Zephyr replied. _The mountains surrounding the French Academy are littered with interconnected caves – many of which will easily house Vaulora and Kyddris._

"That's great. I'll just need to set up a connection between wherever Kyd chooses to make his nest and Beauxbatons, then," Harry said.

Harry, Vaulora, and Kyddris seemed to engage in a heated debate over something for several minutes, until Kyddris rose to his full height and growled harshly, causing Vaulora to lower her head in surrender. After that, Zephyr flew over to her, and the two of them disappeared in a flash of lightning.

"Vaulora's going to scout the mountains and find a nice pair of caves for her and Kyddris," Harry informed her. "She wasn't happy that she's being sent off while Kyd insists on staying with me."

"If she's so unhappy, why doesn't she leave?" Daphne asked.

"Because she's not fully recovered, and Kyddris has proven that he can offer protection against any other dragons that she might run into. Plus, I think she secretly likes the idea of being part of a clan, even if it is just the two of them."

They sat together for much of the rest of the day, until a silvery light flew through the air and landed in front of them before taking the form of a large doe.

 _"We've arrived at the safe house,"_ Lily's voice said. _"I'll meet you in Leaky Cauldron just before we enter Gringotts with Sirius."_

The doe vanished and Daphne sat silently while Harry went over everything in his head, most likely checking for any last minute flaws in the plan. Astoria and Bella had gone ahead with Lily to the Potter safe house in Southern France, while Sirius planned to go to King's Cross with Tracey's parents, Luna's father, and Blaise's mother to pick them up. Together, they would all go to stay with Abra's father, Alfonzo, who would be more than capable of protecting them over the summer.

"Now that I've done my OWLs, you're going to start training me, right?" She asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.

Harry looked unhappy as he nodded, but said nothing about his displeasure, knowing how important it was to her that she learn how to properly defend herself. "We'll start after visiting the Oracle."

"I can live with that," Daphne conceded before changing the subject. "How's your research going?"

Harry's mood brightened immediately as he began talking about complex magical theories she barely understood, losing her completely when he veered off into explaining how he was using science in his research as well. They spent the rest of the day outside with Kyddris, alternating between talking about more lighthearted topics and simply being with each other. Daphne had dozed off against his chest after a toe-curling round of snogging, and was simply listening to his heartbeat – steadfastly ignoring the part of her that wondered how his blood would taste – when he shook her lightly, telling her it was time to go. He pulled her to her feet, and she downed the remainder of the blood in her flask as Kyddris disappeared into his tattooed form. Making sure that she had her wand in the wrist holster Harry had given her, she watched as he murmured some spells and locked down the entirety of Potter Manor before following him through the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron. Once there, they immediately went upstairs to one of the private rooms where Harry pulled out a key and unlocked the door. Inside, there was only a rugged, brown, leather suitcase. Pulling out his Invisibility Cloak, Harry gently wrapped it around her shoulders, placing a soft kiss on her lips before pulling away and grabbing the suitcase while she threw the Cloak over her head. Without another word, Harry led them out into the hall and to the back room, where he tapped the proper sequence of bricks to grant access to Diagon Alley.

People were just starting to wander onto the Alley as the various shops started to open, and Daphne struggled not to bump into any of them as they moved out of Harry's way, many of them regarding him as if he were another Riddle, while a few watched reverently as he confidently marched towards Gringotts.

Once inside, Daphne's heart started to hammer in her chest as she stuck close to Harry while he conversed in Gobbledegook with the teller, looking every which way in fear that she would be spotted. After what seemed like an eternity, Griphook strolled through a door at the back of the room and waved them forward, conversing genially with Harry in his native tongue as he led them towards the vaults. She breathed a sigh of relief as the door slammed closed before them and they were alone in the massive underground complex housing the Gringotts vaults. Without a word, the three of them climbed onto the cart, and sped down towards the bottom of the cave, passing under a strange waterfall that left them all dry as they passed beneath it. After a few more minutes of riding, they came to a stop before a massive vault that seemed to thrum with magic. They disembarked from the cart, and Daphne watched as Harry approached the door and pressed his hand against it. It took a solid minute for the countless charms and defense mechanisms to undo and for the house-sized door to open, granting them entrance to a simple chamber of carved stone, with various doors lining its walls.

As the vault door shut with a heavy crash, Daphne removed the Cloak while Harry knelt down and unlocked the suitcase as he placed it on the ground. She watched as the top of the case flipped open and marveled at the simplicity of their plan as Newton Scamander, Sirius, and Lily all climbed out of the case.

"You have the potions?" Harry asked.

Lily nodded and pulled out five vials of potion. The first four, which she dispersed amongst herself, Harry, Newt, and Sirius, were all varying shades of beige, while the last looked like thick, dark mud that bubbled slowly within the vial. That one went to Harry as well, and he uncorked it before reaching up and yanking out a couple hairs from his head and dropping them in the vial. Replacing the cork and shaking the vial gently, the sludge gradually changed to a glowing silver liquid that reminded Daphne somewhat of unicorn's blood.

"Remember," he said as he handed her the potion and the key to the room in the Leaky Cauldron. "Don't drink it until _after_ you've passed beneath the Thief's Downfall. Call Dobby the moment you get into the room, and have him bring you to the safe house. We'll meet you as soon as we've got the cup."

Daphne nodded and wrapped her head around his neck as she pulled him into a heated kiss for several seconds before handing back the Cloak and turning to join Griphook by the door. Harry opened the door for them, and she could feel him watching her as she climbed onto the cart behind Griphook and sped off towards the surface.


	47. Chapter 47

"You know, when I said I'd help you rob a bank, I didn't think it would be this boring."

"We've barely been here three hours," Newt began from where he was examining the skull of a something that looked like a cross between a horse and a dragon.

"Trust me, Master Scamander," Lily interrupted. "He's hopeless. Sirius Black is the only man who could get bored in a vault full of wonders and riches."

"Oh yeah," Sirius replied sarcastically. "A bunch of books, money, and antiques that would probably make my life rather unpleasant were I to touch them. Fascinating!"

Harry chuckled and rolled his eyes before closing the book he was reading. "If you're so bored, we could always get some training in."

Sirius perked up at the mention of physical activity, while Lily and Newt looked somewhat concerned.

"Are you sure that's such a great idea?" Lily asked. "We don't want to attract any attention, and it wouldn't do us any good for you two to be tired when we actually go out there."

"Don't worry, Lily, these vaults are soundproof," Sirius said, waving his hand dismissively. "And besides, it's not like it'll take a lot out of me to kick the pup's arse."

Harry waved his hand and conjured two short daggers, throwing one to Sirius, who caught it somewhat awkwardly. He didn't wait before drawing it and swiping at Sirius' chest, smirking as his godfather stumbled away from him.

"Susan's aunt isn't here, Sirius, there's no need for bravado," he said tauntingly. He smiled when Sirius regained his balanced and charged in, wand in one hand, dagger in the other. He caught Sirius' dagger with his own, and used his elbow to knock his wand away, making his Disarming Spell veer off course. They exchanged blows for several seconds before leaping apart.

"Come on, Pup, you can do better than that," Sirius panted.

"Maybe," Harry replied. "But you can't."

He dove underneath Sirius' Stunner and kicked one of his legs out from underneath him before grabbing both arms and forcing his godfather to the ground. He winced when Sirius managed to graze his cheek, and rolled away as both of them sprang back to their feet. They continued to exchange blows for several minutes until Harry managed to nick the wrist of Sirius' wand-hand, forcing him to drop it and be distracted momentarily, giving Harry the opening to grab his other wrist, circle around his back, and wrench it up while kicking the back of his knee.

"Alright, alright, I give," Sirius conceded. Harry released him and vanished the two daggers before helping him to his feet. "Have I mentioned lately how much I hate Griphook for teaching you how to fight without magic?"

"No, but I'll be sure to pass on the message," Harry replied cheekily while he healed their cuts.

"That was incredible," Lily said, awestruck.

"You're skill in combat is quite impressive, Harry," Newt added. "I see now why both Riddle and Dumbledore are wary of you."

"Thanks," Harry replied, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. "It is all thanks to Griphook, though. He was the one who started training me that first summer after Zephyr found me. He taught me how even non-magical humans are rarely much of a threat once you get too close for magic or weapons to be very effective."

"That's why you favour that sword of yours so much, isn't it?" Lily surmised.

Harry nodded and summoned his sword, smiling fondly as he watched the light from the torches lining the walls of the vault reflect off the silver edges of the blade.

"Well, that, and the fact that it only takes a single cut to take down a fully grown man," Sirius added, making Harry chuckle.

"Is something the matter, Master Scamander?" Lily asked as she noticed Newt staring warily at the black and silver weapon.

"That sword," Newt said. "It is goblin-wrought, correct?"

"Yes, it is," Harry replied. "Ragnok made it for me himself."

"I can tell that it is an extremely dark weapon," Newt said.

"It's a weapon," Harry replied bluntly. "By most people's definition, that alone would make it dark."

"What about by your definition?" Sirius asked.

Harry pulsed his magic through his sword and swung it lazily as dark tendrils of energy flowed from the blade. "Its magic is dark in nature, that's for sure. But there's a difference between dark and evil."

"That's very wise," Newt said. "Few people would understand the distinction."

Harry shrugged, smiling as he felt a surge of warmth come from his trusty weapon. "It's not an easy one to make." He looked down at his watch at that point and frowned seriously. "It's nearly time for the shift change, we should get ready." Vanishing his staff, Harry threw his Invisibility Cloak over his head, while Sirius, Newt, and his mother all disillusioned themselves. He opened the vault door, keeping an eye on his watch while the other three slipped out behind him. Counting the seconds in his head, he waited until a loud whistling filled the caverns holding the vault to wave his hand and close his own vault with a slam.

Casting a silencing charm on his feet, Harry hunkered down near the door to his vault and took the time to properly inspect his surroundings. Like every other vault, his was situated on a sort of cliff, overhanging the bottom of the cavern. The walls of the cavern were hewn in such a way that climbing along them was nigh impossible, while still showing off the architectural prowess of the Goblin Nation with impressively carved columns and crisscrossing beams holding the various cave-like vaults and paths together. Harry idly wondered how far the endless caverns and tunnels extended beneath London as he looked up into the inky darkness where the only known entrance to the vaults lay. Along with several other old and rich families, the Potter vault was among the last before the bottom, the only one below being the Goblin Nation's own vault where the collective riches of the British branch of the magical bank were held, and where their target lay as well. However, despite being so close, there was still a good two hundred feet between them and the bottom of the cavern. The only way down was using one of the many carts that were speeding by, carrying the goblins being relieved of whatever work it was they were doing down there.

His attention was brought back to the present as one of the carts came to a stop in front of them, and they stood up to join Griphook.

"Did she make it out alright?" Harry asked as he took a seat behind Griphook.

"It couldn't have gone smoother," Griphook replied without turning around. Once the four of them were seated invisibly behind him and the door to the cart securely closed, they sped off around the edge of the cavern at a breakneck pace. When they finally came to a halt, they all jumped out of the cart and Griphook joined Harry under the Cloak as he quietly led them through various twisting tunnels, hugging the walls as several goblins walked passed them.

Distantly, Harry could hear a thundering roar, and knew that they were approaching the first of the defences between them and their goal. As they approached the source of the roaring, he could feel the temperature rise quickly, and smirked as Kyddris hissed in anticipation. There was a dragon waiting for them at the end of that tunnel, and both Harry and Kyddris were relishing the upcoming challenge. Eventually, the tunnel started to widen, before they found themselves standing at the opening to an enormous, circular room, with ornate stone columns rising over three hundred feet before they could just be made out connecting with the roughly hewn ceiling.

In the middle of the room stood something that made Kyddris snarl in outrage within Harry's head, while Harry himself struggled to maintain control of his emotions. The dragon that Kyddris had been so eager to test his mettle against was not the mighty beast they had anticipated.

The dragon, while easily longer and bulkier than Kyddris, looked weak and almost sickly by comparison. Its scales were pale and flaky, with the areas on its hind legs around where giant manacles kept it chained to the ground being stripped bare and raw, the smell of blood and pus burning Harry's sensitive nose. Its eyes were a milky pink, and Harry suspected that it had trouble seeing. That didn't stop it from easily sniffing them out, however, as the dragon licked the air and turned its head to practically stare directly at Harry.

 _"I am not yet so frail to be fooled by your paltry tricks, Goblin,"_ it hissed. _"Though one does wonder what humans are doing down here considering your mutual disdain for each other."_

Without a second thought, Harry pulled off the Invisibility Cloak and faced the beast, bowing low to show his respect.

 _"Hello. My name is Harry Potter. My companions and I came here to break into the vault behind you."_

 _"A Speaker?"_ The dragon hissed curiously. _"It has been a long time since I've seen any of you, and never have they been as polite or honest. Unfortunately, your attempted robbery ends here. As much as I loathe my captors, failure to protect their cursed treasure would only mean more torture for me."_

At that point, Kyddris took it upon himself to appear, and, in a brief flash of light, was soon standing tall and proud before the other dragon. Harry raised an eyebrow as his familiar also bowed his head in respect before speaking.

 _"Honourable Elder, I must ask that you allow my familiar and his companions to pass."_

 _"You're rather impressive for a hatchling,"_ the older dragon observed. _"Do you yet have a name, Young One?"_

 _"I am Kyddris."_

 _"Well met, Kyddris, I am Algaeth. As I said earlier, though, none will pass me until my shackles have been released, and I join My Lady in the afterlife."_

Kyddris growled and Harry quickly took the chance to relay what was going on to the others.

 _"I came here expecting glorious combat, however, there is no honour in slaughtering you so needlessly."_

"Harry, we need to hurry if we want to get in there and destroy the cup before anyone finds us," Lily muttered anxiously. "Is the dragon going to let us pass or –"

She was interrupted by Kyddris' roaring and slamming into Algaeth, pinning him to the ground with ease before lifting his tail and slamming it down, using the blade-like spikes to cleave through the chains around Algaeth's legs. Harry took the opportunity to sprint across the chamber with Griphook, and both made it to the massive, ornate silver door in record time.

"Ready?" Harry asked. Griphook took a deep breath and nodded, and Harry summoned his staff and pointed it at him. _"Imperio."_

Griphook's face went blank, and Harry felt nauseated at the feeling of control that swept through his mind as he instructed Griphook to enter the vault and retrieve the cup. The moment Harry had cast the curse, a loud wailing had filled the cavern, and Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out the beige Polyjuice Potion his mother had made using the hairs of some Muggles in France, downing it in a few gulps. Ignoring the sounds of Kyddris and Algaeth arguing, as well as the uncomfortable writhing of his body changing, Harry watched as Griphook waved his hand along the vault door, murmuring in Gobbledegook the entire time. The metal seemed to melt away to form a hole just large enough for his diminutive stature, and as soon as Griphook stepped inside, it returned to normal.

At this point, the sound of rushing footsteps could be heard, and Harry vanished his staff while three identical men with medium builds and curly blonde hair appeared beside him. Quickly conjuring himself a stick, Harry watched out of the corner of his eye as Kyddris and Algaeth seemed to call off their short, one-sided fight. He had known almost as soon as he saw Algaeth that Kyddris would likely try to convince him to join himself and Vaulora, and it seemed that he had been successful as both beasts vanished in a series of lightning strikes that made the entire cavern rumble and debris start to fall from the ceiling. While Kyddris wouldn't have been able to stay for the coming fight anyway, as it would have been possible to link his unique appearance to Harry, there was still a hollow feeling in Harry's chest knowing that he would be fighting without the warm presence of his brother in his mind.

The first of the goblins had already arrived, garbed in thick armor and bearing all sorts of weapons, and Harry could hear even more charging down the tunnel to join them. Raising his false wand, he fired several blasting hexes at the tunnel behind the goblins, creating a small cave in, and probably crushing a few if the screams he heard were any indication. This left the four of them to face off against the advance guards, meaning they were still being faced with about fifteen battle-hardened warriors that would rather die than see any of their precious treasure be stolen. The goblins charged, shrugging off every spell Sirius, Lily, and Newt fired at them as their enchanted armor protected them. Thinking fast, Harry conjured a torrent of water before following up with a bolt of lightning that danced from warrior to warrior, filling the room with the acrid smell of burnt flesh as most of the goblins were cooked inside their armor while the rest were knocked unconscious. He could already here the rubble being cleared from the other side of the tunnel when he felt an incredibly malicious presence behind him and turned to see Griphook march robotically out of the vault with the cup in his hand.

"Cover me!" Harry yelled as he ran over to Griphook and grabbed the cup from him. Quickly turning it over in his hands, he examined every inch of it before waving his stick and conjuring an exact replica, which he placed in Griphook's hands and instructed be placed back where he found the original before drinking the memory potion in his potion and waiting inside the vault.

By the time Harry returned to help the others, the goblins had already burrowed through the cave in and were charging into the room in the dozens. Reaching into his pocket, Harry pulled out a small black crystal and sent a mental thanks to his two favourite Weasley boys as he threw it on the ground as hard as he could. The entire cavern was immediately engulfed in a thick darkness that Harry felt he had experienced somewhere before, and using his nose and ears, he grabbed hold of his mother, Sirius, and Newt before calling for Zephyr once more. With one last crack of lightning, all four of them were taken out of the cavern and dumped unceremoniously on a creaky wooden floor. He could feel Zephyr chuckle in his mind as he groaned and stood up, and smiled as Kyddris' presence also returned now that the distance separating them was reduced. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out the cup and sighed with relief.

Somehow, they had done it.


	48. Chapter 48

The Potter safe house in France was built directly into the side of one of the mountains that formed a natural border between France and Spain, and was not far from where Beauxbatons happened to be hidden. Unlike Potter Manor, which more closely resembled a castle than its name suggested, the outside of the safe house was nothing more than a small stone outcropping. Inside, was a labyrinth of rooms and hallways that made Harry wonder what his family had used the safe house for in the past. The signs of age and abandonment could be heard in every creaking hinge and rotted floorboard, smelled in the dust and mold filled air, and felt in the cold lifeless atmosphere between the walls.

Despite all this, it didn't stop Tipsy and Dobby from waging war on the accumulated filth everywhere. It somewhat reminded him of what Daphne had said went on in Grimmauld Place during the previous summer, though the pair of elves were certainly less abrasive with their efforts than Mrs. Weasley had allegedly been.

They had returned from Gringotts and Harry had wasted little time summoning his sword and cleaving right through the cup. Now he was preparing to go with Minerva, Daphne, and Bella to meet with Lucas, who would escort them to the veela enclave. Bella had been rather insistent on going with them, and while Harry was reluctant to put her anywhere near the potential danger that was his life, he found himself fighting a losing battle against the combination of her logic that she was _technically_ older than him and retained more than enough knowledge to take care of herself as well as whatever spell it was that she had cast when she pouted at him that seemed to break through all of his defences. Reluctantly, he had agreed after Daphne reassured him that they weren't likely to run into too much adversity within the enclave itself and Minerva had explained to him that Bella probably just wanted to be with him, where she felt safest.

Astoria, however, had declined coming along. Unlike Daphne, who seemed to at least be able to compartmentalize the grief she was surely feeling over Penelope's death, Astoria had become more subdued since the event, and chosen to remain behind, burying herself in the multitude of subjects she had to learn now that Daphne had lost her place as the Heiress to the House of Greengrass after killing Cyrus.

His mother and Sirius had already left to meet Remus, so Harry and Daphne were both thankful that Newt and his wife, Porpentina, had decided to stay at the safe house and, along with Tipsy and Dobby, be able to keep Astoria company and help her with their studies while Newt assisted Kyddris with the recovery of both Algaeth and Vaulora who were all staying in a massive system of tunnels and caves beneath the mountain range that Kyddris had been working on expanding, if the melted rock along the walls was any indication. Zephyr would stay behind to act as a translator between the human and dragons, making Harry feel a deep sadness as he thought about how so many of the people closest to him had been split up and spread apart.

He found himself watching the Marauders Map often, his eyes following the dots labeled _Severus Snape_ and _Poppy Pomfrey_ as they roamed the empty halls of Hogwarts. Neither had been able to leave with him, Sirius, and Minerva, due to Poppy's oath as Healer to the students at Hogwarts, and Severus needing to maintain the illusion that he was spying for both Riddle and Dumbledore. He worried constantly for them, but reassured himself that neither were technically in any immediate danger as long as they were within Hogwarts.

"You ready to go?" Daphne asked as she joined him outside the safe house, where the sun was setting over the land below the mountains.

Pushing his thoughts aside, Harry smiled and wrapped his arms around Daphne, holding her close to him and taking a deep breath, allowing the smell of vanilla, old parchment, and the slightest hint of blood to fill his lungs and chase away his misgivings. They stood there in silence until Minerva and Bella joined them, they both were garbed in robes that looked more suited for battle, with hard leather pads holding the fabric down and protecting vital areas of their bodies. Harry couldn't help but be reminded by the former of the giant chess set he, Ron, and Hermione had faced in his first year, and how imposing the massive queen piece had been as it went around the board, obliterating their pieces wherever she went. Bella, however, looked nothing short of adorable as she stood next to Minerva, her chest puffed up proudly as her tail swished behind her, belying her excitement.

Reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small letter bearing the Delacour coat of arms, Harry held it out for the others to grab as it began to glow blue. Moments later, there was the familiar tug behind his navel and the ground disappeared beneath him. As quickly as it started, it stopped and he stumbled slightly, making Bella and Daphne giggle, while Minerva shook her head with a slight smile on her face. Grumbling under his breath about his hatred for magical travel, he righted himself and summoned his staff while Daphne raised her hand to her mouth and whistled loudly. He watched as Rosie seemed to rise out of the shadows, and grinned when the massive canine barked happily before tackling Daphne, easily taking her to the ground with her massive size and bathing her in slobber.

After the required minute to calm Rosie down, Harry helped Daphne to her feet, and, once she had vanished the drool coating her face and chest, they looked around and examined their surroundings.

The enclave reminded Harry of Hogsmeade with its quaint, rural feel. Surrounding the village was a forest so thick, it was nearly impossible to see the far off mountains behind it. Despite the gorgeous surroundings, the cobblestone streets seemed mostly deserted, though Harry could just make out people watching them through the closed blinds on their windows out of the corner of his eye.

His attention was drawn to a nearby building that Harry figured must have been some sort of community center or town hall, as it was larger than the rest, with a large dome over the center of the building and two equally large wings stretching forward, creating a sort of horseshoe shape around a beautiful garden with a sparkling fountain in its centre. A large pair of doors opened, and Harry grinned as Lucas Delacour stepped out to meet them, holding his arms up in welcome.

" _Bienvenue,_ Harry!" He exclaimed, wrapping his arms around Harry and pulling him into a hug before planting a kiss on both of his cheeks. Daphne giggled at his awkward expression, and Harry scowled at her as he returned the hug.

"It's good to see you again, Lucas," Harry replied before pointing at the rest of his group. "This is Minerva McGonagall, a mentor and good friend of mine." Minerva curtsied and held her hand out for Lucas to take a plant a kiss on the back of.

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance Monsieur Delacour," she said politely.

"And this little one," Harry said, placing his hand on Bella's shoulder as she tried to hide behind him. "Is Bella. She will be starting her first year at Beauxbatons in September."

" _Bonjour,_ Bella," Lucas said softly. "My daughter, Gabby will also be starting school in the fall. Would you like to meet her?"

Bella smiled and nodded her head shyly, holding tightly to Harry's hand as they followed Lucas into the building. Harry had barely stepped over the threshold before he was tackled by a silvery-blonde blur.

 _"Harry! It's so good to see you! I've missed you so much! The old lady said you would be coming, but I didn't know if you would, and then Papa said that he had sent you a portkey and I've been so excited to see you!"_

Harry chuckled and returned Gabrielle's hug. "It's good to see you too, Gabby. I'd like you to meet Bella, she'll be joining you at Beauxbatons in the fall."

Gabrielle grinned and waved to Bella, who let go of Harry to return the gesture. Within a minute the two girls had run off and their shrieks of laughter and rapid-fire conversation could be heard echoing through the halls. Meanwhile, Lucas led the rest of them up the stairs at the back of the large foyer they were in.

"So, Lucas," Daphne asked. "Have you found any more leads on that man who was killing vampires?"

"Not much, I'm afraid," Lucas replied solemnly. "The vampires are reluctant, at best, to work with humans, and it has taken everything I 'ave to keep them from retaliating against the werewolves they believe are behind the attacks. The other European ministries 'ave been reluctant to provide any aid, either due to their own trouble with zee Dark Lord's forces, or a lack of caring for those who are not human."

"Somehow, I'm not surprised," Minerva grumbled.

"There are even those within my own Ministry who believe that assisting the enclave is not worth the time or resources, while those who support our efforts here are more concerned with the safety of the Oracle than that of the veela providing her with refuge. I have, however, managed to track down a lead on the identity of the man you saw that night, Daphne."

"Who is it?" Harry asked.

"I have no positive confirmation on 'is real name," Lucas said. "But I believe 'e goes by zee name Ghost, and is a mercenary of sorts. Zat is not the most interesting piece of information I've stumbled upon, though."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean zat I 'ave heard rumors zat Dumbledore is attempting to correspond with the vampires. It seems 'e is trying to recruit them to his side for the war."

"You think Dumbledore's trying to capitalize on this Ghost fellow manufacturing an increase in tensions between the werewolves and vampires?" Minerva asked.

"Whatever 'e is doing, it 'as been with little success," Lucas said as he led them up yet another set of stairs. "But it will do no good to speculate on these things at this time. There is a more important reason for you being here."

"You mean the Oracle?" Harry asked.

They came to a stop outside a door on the third floor and Lucas' expression turned grim. " _Oui._ The Oracle of Delphi is not well. She will not be of this world for much longer, and she asked to speak with you, Harry, before her spirit moved on to find its next host."

Lucas opened the door and Harry entered the room to find Fleur and her mother standing next to a large bed where the oldest woman Harry had ever seen lay. Her skin was dark and leathery as it hung off her in large wrinkles, and her eyes were cloudy and unfocused, making Harry think she was blind until she cocked her head to the side and seemed to stare right through to the depths of his soul.

"Hello, Harry," she croaked, her accent making Harry think she must have been from somewhere in the United States. "It's good to finally meet you."

"H-how do you know my name?" Harry asked, making the Oracle chuckle warmly.

"I'm the one who asked for you, remember?"

"Right," Harry said awkwardly, flushing with embarrassment. The Oracle chuckled once more, but it quickly deteriorated into a series of chest rattling coughs. Harry rushed forward, but was waved off by the Oracle as Fleur stepped in with a glass of water and a handkerchief. Harry watched silently as the Oracle coughed into the handkerchief, noting the familiar shade of red left behind on its intricate embroidery as she accepted the glass of water. After a few shaky sips, she gave the water back to Fleur, who took it in silence, and turned her attention back to Harry.

"I'm afraid I haven't much time left," she whispered. "However, before I go, I needed to speak with you."

"Why is that?"

"The Oracle of Delphi has many powers and responsibilities," she explained. "Chief among them is the ability to recall every prophecy that has ever been told. However, I haven't called you here for that. Instead, I simply have a message and a gift that I must deliver."

"From who?" Harry asked, stepping forward and allowing his hand to be taken within her own.

"The Lady herself," the Oracle replied. "She has instructed me to deliver a summons to you."

"Who is this Lady? Is she the same one the house elves refer to? Why does she want to meet me?"

"I'm afraid I can't answer those questions," she replied weakly. "All I can do is give you this." Reaching up, the Oracle closed her eyes and there was a massive pulse of magic that nearly threw Harry to the ground as the room was filled with a bright golden light. When the light eventually faded, and his eyes had readjusted, he saw that the Oracle was now holding a scabbard of some sort. It seemed to be made out of plain brown leather, with a strap of the same material, but Harry could feel the powerful magic flowing off of it and through the room, filling him with a sense of warmth. "Every sword needs a proper sheath," the Oracle said. "And this one is to be yours. Take it and head west to where a giant trembles in the wind, from there you will be granted access to the land where the Lady waits for you."

Harry nodded and reverently accepted the scabbard from the old woman. He reached out his hand and summoned his sword, sheathing it in the scabbard and found it to be a perfect fit, while an approving warmth suffused him originating from the blade itself.

"Thank you," he said quietly.

"I wouldn't thank me quite yet," the Oracle rasped. It was clear to Harry that whatever she had just done had used the last bit of her remaining strength. "Where you are going is a place where no man has set foot for over a millennium. A land saturated with magic so powerful, you will find yourself unable to cast your own. You will be a mere man in a land of myths. You will be pushed to your absolute limits and beyond in every sense. Without the guidance of a queen, a lady, and a heart, you will lose your way, and this world will be plunged into an era of despair the likes of which it has never seen. However, should you pass the Lady's trials, and be granted audience with her, you will return to us as the man this world will need, and your birthright will be returned to you." Harry watched as the Oracle broke down into another fit of coughs, before gradually slowing down and closing her eyes. Then with one last rattling breath, he watched as she relaxed and felt more than anything, that she had passed on.

With one last deep breath, Harry straightened himself, strapped his sword to his waist, and turned to face Lucas, Daphne, and Minerva, who both looked concerned.

"What do you think I should do?" He asked staring into the eyes of the one who had enraptured him for so long. Daphne looked uncomfortable, as if trying to make up her mind about something.

"I think that I need to show you some memories," she said after several minutes.

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but was cut off by a loud explosion from outside that shook the foundations of the building in which they were standing. Running to the window, he saw countless wizards and witches flooding the streets, engaged in combat all over while the veela all seemed desperate to simply avoid getting caught in the cross fire as buildings burned and were reduced to rubble. One duel in particular was happening right in front of the building they were in, and Harry didn't even have to look to recognise the two overwhelming sources of magic clashing as the world fell apart around them.

Riddle had found them.

And so had Dumbledore.

The two were engaged in a duel that would surely find its place in the history books, but all Harry could feel was anger as Dumbledore stepped out of the way of a Killing Curse and a veela who happened to be behind him was struck down, collapsing directly on top of a little girl.

"Dobby, Tipsy, Kreacher!" Harry yelled, watching as all three elves appeared to them while mentally calling for Zephyr, who appeared on his shoulder in a flash of lightning. "The four of you will start evacuating as many people as possible. Daphne, you go get Bella and Gabby, and have Rosie take them back to the safe house. Explain what's going on and ask Newt and his wife if they'll come back with you. Try and avoid the fighting as much as you can, and lend as much magic as possible to Rosie so she can help with getting people out of here. The rest of us will take down any Anti-Apparition wards, and get to work on evacuating the village as well."

Everyone nodded and Harry didn't look back as he ran out the door, drawing his sword and slicing through a Death Eater without stopping as he summoned his staff to him. Skidding to a halt in the foyer, Minerva, Lucas, Fleur, Apolline not far behind him, Harry closed his eyes and started hissing to himself as he tried to find the correct ward to take down. Luckily, it seemed neither Riddle, nor Dumbledore had been the one to put up the wards themselves, and as such, they posed little challenge to them all. Newt and his wife, Tina, appeared not long after that, but never got the chance to say anything before the doors and surrounding wall in front of them exploded and they were all thrown off their feet as Dumbledore and Riddle launched spells that collided with one another and locked them in a power struggle. Bolts of light shot out in every direction, obliterating whatever they came in contact with, and yet Harry knew that neither of them were giving their all. He knew that if these two titans were to go all out, there would be nothing to save any of them.

Cursing himself, he struggled to his feet, mentally calling Zephyr back to him, and ran, tackling Dumbledore while Zephyr dove at Riddle, transporting the three of them far away.


	49. Chapter 49

Harry grunted as he rose to his feet. A quick look around confirmed that he had successfully apparated to the German forest where he and Daphne had discovered the truth about her heritage. Zephyr was nowhere to be seen, having immediately gone back to the enclave to help with the evacuation, leaving Harry alone with the two most powerful men in the world. Already, he could feel the stifling force of their respective magic as they regained their bearings, and he scrambled for a plan on how to keep them occupied until the evacuation was finished.

"Potter," Riddle hissed as his baleful red eyes fell on him. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Harry?" Dumbledore asked incredulously. "What are you doing here? It's far too dangerous!"

"You're too late," Harry said, preferring to remain ambiguous in who he was addressing. "The Oracle's already dead."

The moment he stopped speaking, Harry felt both the tidal wave of force and the barrage of surgically precise stabs at his mind from Riddle and Dumbledore respectively as they bore down on him with the full weight of their magical forces in an attempt to break through whatever mental defences he had to confirm what he said and find out if he had learned anything. Rather than try to fight them off, he only offered up a token resistance before willingly dropping his defences, allowing both of them to stumble into the geometrically impossible labyrinth that he had developed to organize and visualize his mind.

With both of them occupied trying to navigate the incomprehensible pathways of his mind as well as the multitude of traps and internal defences set up through the labyrinth, Harry took the time to discretely start transfiguring his skin into the dark fur of his lion form, in preparation for doing whatever he had to in order to survive.

"Well, it seems that yet again you have proven to be a thorn in my side, Potter," Riddle declared after several minutes of fruitless searching. "Regardless, my patience has apparently been rewarded anyway as I now have the unique opportunity to do away with both you and Dumbledore."

"Big words coming from the one I've been beating since the age of eleven," Harry taunted.

"Your mother's protection won't do you any good now, Potter," Riddle hissed. "Thanks to you and dear Barty Crouch, I have transcended such paltry defences. And now, you've trapped yourself with nowhere to run."

"You seem to be forgetting that I'm not alone, Tom," Harry retorted. "Did you really –" He was cut off as the branches above him creaked and groaned before reaching down and wrapping around his biceps, yanking him up off the ground. To his surprise, it was Dumbledore who had made the first move and was conducting the forest to abduct him. He knew that he and the Headmaster were on separate sides, but he thought that they would at least be able to work together against a common enemy. Instead, Dumbledore turned back to Riddle, determination gleaming in his eyes as a thick branch wrapped itself around Harry's neck and started to squeeze tighter and tighter. Without another word, Dumbledore suddenly started throwing everything he had at Riddle, his wand a blur as it slashed through the air, unleashing a flurry of destructive magic that Riddle countered with his own while branches started to ensnare Harry's ribs, crushing the life out of him.

Within minutes, the forest was ablaze and there was a ring of utter destruction surrounding the two powerful wizards. Harry's lungs were burning and his vision darkening by the time he managed to concentrate enough to wandlessly cut his way out of the arboreal ensnarement and drop to the ground with a thud, only to look up just as Dumbledore redirected a massive serpent of Fiendfyre at him. Thinking fast, Harry unsheathed his sword and slashed through the flames, channeling his dragon magic through the blade as it seemed to consume the flames before he slashed it up diagonally, sending a wave of magic that both of his enemies managed to block while it sliced through the trees behind them before plunging his sword into the ground, discretely casting the Bubble-Head Charm as the remaining grass around them ignited before the earth beneath it started to glow. Transfiguring his skin from the Nemean Lion's fur to wyvern scales, Harry was able to withstand the heat from the close proximity to the lava he was creating even as his clothes started to ignite. Unfortunately, he was couldn't properly transfigure his eyes and was forced to shut them tight as they quickly started to burn while Dumbledore and Riddle dealt with the noxious fumes and cataclysmic heat surrounding them. This proved to be a mistake, as he barely registered the magic of two powerful curses being hurled his way by the two master magicians. His concentration broke and the lava quickly started to cool as he dove to the side in an attempt to avoid the Cruciatus Curse Riddle had hurled his way, throwing him directly into the electric blue spell Dumbledore had used. Despite his best efforts, the spell still managed to strike Harry on the outside of his right thigh, causing a wave of pain to shoot through his leg as the scales there flaked and fell off, breaking his concentration and forcing him to revert to a fully human form where he saw a patch of flesh on his thigh about two inches in diameter had turned a disgusting mixture of black, green, and yellow. His distraction cost him again as a cloud of arrows descended upon him like a swarm of insects, grazing his ribs and impaling his left thigh and bicep before he managed to conjure a wall in front of himself.

Leaning against the wall, Harry took a deep breath and snapped the arrows sticking out of him. He knew he was completely outmatched in terms of skill and power compared to either of his opponents – much less both of them – so he decided to resort to the one advantage he did have and pulled his Invisibility Cloak out from his seared robes, happy to see that it had somehow survived the battle so far. Sheathing his sword and casting all sorts of concealment charms on himself, Harry threw the Cloak over his head and reverted back to first year as he levitated objects from various points around the battlefield and launched them at both Dumbledore and Riddle causing them to turn towards where they thought he was hiding and providing the other with an opening. With the help of the charms on him and the roar of the fire blazing around them, Harry was even able to apparate to different points on the battlefield and shoot a variety of simple hexes in order to trip up the two of them as they tried to get a lock on his location while fighting each other.

He continued like this for as long as he could, ignoring the screams of pain coming from his body as the sky gradually grew darker. Even with the simple spells he was casting, Harry was starting to feel the drain on his energy as the battle dragged on while Dumbledore and Riddle were still going strong. Eventually, though, he tripped up, and everything around him seemed to reach a synchronized lull just as he stepped on one of the broken branches that had tried to crush him to death, resulting in a Body-Bind and Cruciatus Curse hitting him nearly at the same time. Harry fell to the ground, part of the Cloak slipping off of him, as every molecule of his being seemingly ignited, the pain only intensifying when he found he was unable to move in any way, forcing him to suffer in still silence.

He felt his consciousness fading as both Riddle and Dumbledore turned to his half-exposed form, and forced his mind to push through the pain, the determination to imagine golden hair and the smell of vanilla, parchment, and blood before he died forcing away any fear he may have had, making him barely even notice the flash of light around him as he sunk into the comforting darkness.

*(OoO)*

The only thing keeping Daphne from killing someone was the effort it took to keep both Bella and a recently returned Kyddris from doing the same. When Harry had finally arrived back at the safe house with the help of Zephyr, he was in the worst shape Daphne had ever seen him after a fight, and both Nicolas and his wife had been sequestered with him alone in the two weeks since trying to keep him from succumbing to his wounds. In the meantime, no one was allowed to see him if for no other reason than there was a massive, angry dragon lying between Harry and the many people who had come to the safe house in order to avoid the warzone that had become the veela enclave and its surrounding areas. Unfortunately, the presence of so many veela in one place did not mix well with the humans, either due to the reactions to their allure, or the fact that wizarding society was prejudiced no matter where you went. On the bright side, Daphne had been getting quite a bit of practice in with her own charms, as she was frequently trying to break up fights or deflecting fireballs thrown from angry veela.

She was so busy, in fact, that she rarely had any opportunity to find more blood. It was only thanks to Rosie and Kyddris (when he could be convinced to leave Harry) that she didn't succumb to the mixture of thirst and frustration and attack someone. When she wasn't settling petty arguments or savaging a carcass like a wild animal, Daphne found her thoughts constantly going back to what the Oracle had said before passing away.

 _"Without the guidance of a queen, a lady, and a heart, you will lose your way, and this world will be plunged into an era of despair the likes of which it has never seen."_

This made her think back to her fourth year, when she had stumbled into Professor Trelawney on her way to Harry's office.

 _Queen of White, Lady of Black, Heart of Knight. Over ocean and desert lead boy-turned-man toward birthright._

"You seem rather deep in thought."

Daphne yelped from her position against a sleeping Kyddris, and looked up to see Professor McGonagall approaching her. Kyddris raised his head, being careful not to disturb the sleeping Bella splayed across his snout and growled, but after quickly sniffing her, laid his head back down to doze, allowing her to conjure up a chair and take a seat next to Daphne.

"Professor!" Daphne exclaimed. "I didn't notice you there."

"That's quite alright, Miss Greengrass," McGonagall replied quietly. "You've been rather busy since we got back from the enclave, I don't judge you for wanting a moment for yourself."

"I've been thinking about what the Oracle said," Daphne admitted.

"I presume you are referring to the bit about the world being plunged into an era of despair the likes of which it has never seen?" McGonagall asked.

"And the bit before that," Daphne added. "I've shown you the memories of the other prophecies that I saw, and you can't deny the similarity between the one Trelawney made to me in fourth year and what the Oracle said."

"No," McGonagall said, shaking her head. "I don't. It's clear that you, at least, are meant to be one of three women to help guide Harry through whatever trial he will face next. However, I'm quite sure that you would be there for him regardless of what a prophecy said, and for that I can't begin to say how grateful I am."

"You make it sound like standing by his side is some sort of chore," Daphne teased.

"Considering the trouble that boy finds himself in, it might as well be."

"I don't know how Harry does it," Daphne groaned quietly. "More and more refugees are coming by the day, expecting to see the Great Harry Potter, yet none of them seem to feel any kind of sympathy for the fact that he dueled against the two most powerful wizards in the world and needs time to recover. If it weren't for Kyddris, they'd have woken him up and demanded he get back on the front lines as soon as he got back. I've no doubt that they aren't going to be happy when he leaves to go wherever it is the Oracle wanted to send him."

"He'll do it the same way he always has," McGonagall replied. "With those he cares for by his side."

 **A/N: Hello all! I apologize for the long wait, but with exams and the holidays, I haven't had much time for writing. My family and I are about to go on a vacation, so I don't know how much time I'll have for writing until I get back to my apartment, but I wanted to post something at least to let you all know that I haven't in fact abandoned this fic. It's not much, but hopefully you all liked it and can bare with me until I get back and have time to write regularly once more. Either way, thanks to everyone who left reviews saying how much they didn't want to see this fic end, as it gave me enough motivation to get off my butt and write a quick something for you all which I hope you liked. Now, I don't know when I'll be able to get the next chapter up, but I will see you all then!**


	50. Chapter 50

Harry groaned as he returned to consciousness, taking stock of the various aches and pains throughout his body. He struggled to move, but it felt like even his eyelids were made of lead, forcing them to remain closed as he fumbled around the bed he found himself in. Finally, with a herculean amount of effort, he managed to crack his eyes open and looked around, trying to take in his surroundings. He vaguely recognized the room as one in the Potter safe house, and wracked his memories for how he had gotten there. In a rush, he remembered everything, and groaned as his body complained once again at the pain wracking through it.

"Harry!"

Suddenly there was an increase in weight across his chest, and Harry allowed his eyes to close as he inhaled the familiar scent of vanilla, parchment, and blood.

"Hey, Sunshine," he rasped, smiling as a squeal pre-empted a second weight throwing itself on him, the cool texture of scales informing him that Bella had joined them as well.

"You're awake!" Bella shouted, tightening her hold around his neck as Daphne simply remained bent over him with her head buried in his chest.

"It's good to see you too, Bella," Harry replied, smiling softly as Bella bounced back to her feet.

"I have to tell Professor Minnie, and Newt, and Tina!" She shouted before sprinting out of the barren room hewn from the stone of the mountain, her little wings flapping behind her and occasionally picking her up off the ground for a moment at a time.

Once the door had closed behind her, Daphne finally moved, lifting herself into the bed beside him and grabbing his hands to guide them around her waist as she looked up at him with shining lavender eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"Been better," Harry replied honestly, knowing she, more than anyone else, would never settle for his customary response of being fine. Noting the dissatisfied way her eyebrows scrunched together regardless, he continued. "I'm not sure if I hate myself more for picking a fight with the two most powerful men on the planet, or for knowing that I'd still do it again if I had to."

"Well, at least you're finally starting to acknowledge the absurdity of your little saving-people thing," Daphne remarked, burying her face back in his neck and rubbing her nose against his jugular.

"Then perhaps there is hope for him yet."

Looking up, Harry smiled as Minerva walked in, followed by Newt, Tina, and Bella.

"How're things?" He asked.

"The wizarding population is about as grateful for what you did as expected," Minerva replied, smiling softly as she came to a stop beside his bed and grabbed one of his hands softly. "Thankfully, Monsieur Delacour and his family have taken care of the relocation of the veelas, so we are no longer spending our days putting out fires."

"Literally, in some cases," Tina added, making her husband chuckle. "You had us rather worried when you arrived here, Mister Potter."

"I take it I have you two to thank for patching me up?" Harry asked, receiving nods of affirmation he continued. "How long have I been out?"

"About three weeks," Daphne said, raising her head from the crook of his neck to join the rest of them.

"You were dealt some rather nasty blows during that last scuffle, Harry," Newt informed him.

"That's nothing new," Harry replied dryly, a hint of bitterness colouring his tone.

"Maybe, but I doubt you've ever been so close to losing a limb." Raising an eyebrow, Harry's gaze followed where Newt was pointing to his exposed leg, where there was a large, star-shaped hunk of flesh carved out of his right thigh.

"Whatever spell it was that hit you immediately killed the flesh it came in contact with," Tina explained. "It's one thing to heal extraordinary wounds, but, even with magic, dead is still dead."

"The real problem was the fact that the necrosis seemed to be spreading from the point of impact," Newt added. "By the time we started removing it, we already had to cut through your femoral artery, at which point we had to resort to cauterizing the incision before getting to work healing it. Given time to recover, your movement shouldn't be hampered terribly, however, you are guaranteed to feel some amount of pain whenever you apply weight to the leg."

"I'm just grateful I still have a leg at all," Harry replied earnestly. "Thank you, both of you."

"Think nothing of it, dear," Tina said, waving her hand dismissively.

"As much as I'd like to let you get some more rest, Harry," Minerva said, "I think we should discuss what the Oracle told you."

Harry nodded, and looked down with a raised eyebrow when he felt a familiar weight settle on the bed beneath his hand and lifted it to find his sword resting next to him still wrapped in the plain leather he had been gifted by the Oracle. Once more, he could feel the phenomenal magic within the scabbard. The only thing that could compare to it was the ambient magic that swirled around Hogwarts, but he had never felt it concentrated in such a small space, let alone a single object.

"She said that I had been summoned by the Lady," he murmured.

"Do you think it's the same Lady that the elves were talking about?" Daphne asked.

"It would make more sense than there being two separate ones known to the elves and the Oracle," Bella surmised. "But we still don't know who she is or what she wants."

"Well, we know she wants to see me," Harry said. "I'm supposed to head west, where a giant trembles in the wind, and find the entrance to her land."

He felt Daphne tense up next to him, and turned to see a conflicted expression on her face. "I think it's time you heard those prophecies about yourself," she murmured.

"Daphne," he began, only to be interrupted as she forged on.

"I know you don't believe in them, but there might be a clue in them that can lead us to this Lady."

Harry considered her point for a minute before sighing in resignation. "Alright. Whoever this Lady is, she seems powerful and not someone to ignore. If you think this can help us find her, then let's do it."

Not wanting to move, Harry called Dobby and asked him to bring him the modified pensieve he had been working on, and within minutes, was watching a younger version of himself in the Chamber of Secrets stiffen and start reciting the first prophecy in an eerie voice.

 _"Two kings do wage war unending,_

 _Through peace and time and death,_

 _Secret battles unrelenting._

 _King of Black,_

 _King of White,_

 _Their fates held in sparkling Knight._

 _While Black is young and would see Knight slain,_

 _Age and pride would make him pawn of White._

 _But, if Knight doth become King,_

 _A return to Avalon he shall bring._

 _Together, boy and dragon both will grow,_

 _To protect both world and treasure from seeds of pain,_

 _That opposing forces attempt to sow._

 _Though control of both the treasure's gained,_

 _Neither Man nor Living Soul can be aware._

 _For if his Heart he does question,_

 _What once was balance will be despair._

 _Faith in what treasure's heart doth feel,_

 _Neither myth nor mundane will deceive,_

 _What time together rill reveal,_

 _And no greater power does magic perceive._

 _Power to burn the world asunder,_

 _Rests with she who holds the heart,_

 _Of Hero, Monster, Friend of Thunder._

 _Though beast within creates the bond,_

 _And to treasure's years it does restrain,_

 _When time has come and deed is done,_

 _In the end they begin again._

 _Man, Soul, and Heart as one,_

 _To forevermore protect where it all begun."_

"Well, that was interesting," Harry murmured as the image of himself faded from above the pensieve.

"Before you say anything," Daphne replied, "take a look at the other one first."

Harry nodded and once more watched the pensieve as this time a ghostly image of Professor Trelawney spoke to Daphne in a haunting tone not dissimilar to the one he had just heard himself using.

 _"Queen of White, Lady of Black, Heart of Knight. Over ocean and desert lead boy-turned-man toward birthright. Through fire and ice the Silver King will fight. Bone of father, flesh of faithful, blood of foe. Brought together in defence of Heart and Home. While Black sows sorrow from the shadows, White will blind all with his light. Queen of White, Lady of Black, Heart of Knight."_

"I guess that explains what Riddle meant when he mentioned he had Barty Crouch to thank for his resurrection," Harry surmised.

"How do you figure?" Newt asked.

"Last year, we found out that Barty Crouch Jr. had faked his death and escaped Azkaban," Minerva explained. "He and Harry dueled before he got away. It's not terribly difficult to believe that Harry's blood was on him in some form, and if there was some form of ritual that could restore Riddle's body that involved the three ingredients mentioned, the only one that would have been an issue collecting would be the blood of an enemy."

"Which could explain why Harry was entered in that awful tournament," Daphne finished. "The entire thing was a massive security nightmare, not to mention Crouch seemed to have been trying to subtly help Harry with the tasks."

"So," Bella announced. "You, me, and Professor McGonagall need to guide Harry west over an ocean and a desert towards some sort of birthright that will make him a king."

"Hold on, young lady," Minerva said sternly. "What makes you think you are going anywhere?"

"Well, we already know that both prophecies are about Harry," Bella explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world. "Which means Headmaster Whiskers and Moldy-Shorts are the White and Black kings, while Harry's the knight. That means Daphne's his heart and treasure because she's the thing he cares most for in the world. You're obviously the White Queen, because you were Dumbledore's right hand for years, and I'm the Lady of Black, because the other me that Harry rescued me from was Tom's right hand as well, and were things different and I had gotten the chance to grow up the first time, I would be the head of the Black family instead of Sirius, since I'm technically older than him."

"I forget that you were at one point one of the most dangerous people in the world," Harry said, chuckling when Bella smiled innocently with a mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"I'll remind you that it wasn't technically her that was the most dangerous witch in modern times," Daphne said. "You can't seriously be considering taking her along with us on a dangerous, intercontinental mission to meet some strange Lady, can you?"

"I'm more than capable of looking after myself," Bella retorted, and Harry noticed the shadow passing behind her eyes. "That woman was a monster and ruined my life, but it was still my body, mind, and magic that were being used – and aside from being shorter and having a really cool pair of wings and a tail, I still have most of that experience. I know about dark magic that only Dumbledore would know how to counter, and have over thirty years of Bellatrix Lestrange's battle experience in my brain. It's thanks to Harry that I can finally make choices for myself, and I'm choosing to accompany him, no matter what any of you say."

At that point, all eyes turned to Harry, who looked into Bella's eyes, shining with determination. The last thing he wanted to do was put her in danger, but he could hardly deny that what she had said was true. He may have taken away the experiences of watching her own body commit unending atrocities, but that information was still in Bella's mind, and he had already seen that she had retained much of her skill when it came to magic. In fact, attending school was pretty much a formality for her, and he knew she would be needing more advanced lessons just so she didn't die of boredom.

"Fine," he said with a long suffering sigh. "I guess we're headed west."

 **A/N: Would you look at that, I didn't actually abandon this story! I apologize for the long delay, but along with real life things getting in the way, I've been suffering from a huge lack of motivation, and when I was, I've been slowly working on my own original story on Wattpad. That being said, I'm going to try and make an effort to get back in the swing of things, though fair warning: that other story will probably take precedence, as I really want to be able to say that I've created something entirely my own.**

 **Anyways, thanks again for your patience, and I hope you've all enjoyed this story so far. Let me know what you think in the reviews, and don't forget to follow/favourite!**

 **Ta ta for now!**


	51. Chapter 51

It took another week before Harry was back on his feet. The wound on his leg didn't affect his walking, but Daphne could see that it did cause him pain constantly. While he recovered, they learned that Floo Networks and magical borders were now being closely monitored, meaning they had to find an alternate way to make their way west. It was Astoria, who had been throwing herself into her studies with the Flamels and the Scamanders, or helping the various refugees who were still hiding out in the safe house, that had suggested they travel the muggle way. She had barely reacted to Daphne informing her that she would be leaving with Harry, Bella, and McGonagall, simply telling her to be careful and stay safe, a false smile on her face.

"We'll look after her," Perenelle promised once they had packed their things.

Daphne smiled and thanked her, watching sadly as her sister walked into the room she had been using, and closing the door behind her. A part of her worried how Tori was handling everything, before idly wondering which one of them was worse off: the one going about business as usual, or the one having an actual reaction to the death of their parents.

Now she found herself trailing behind Harry in a massive building filled with muggles as he led them towards a desk where a bored-looking woman sat. Speaking in rapid-fire French, he handed her several pieces of paper and four thin, small books that had each of their pictures in them (with Bella's being taken while under a Polyjuice to hide her less human characteristics). Within minutes he was placing the bags he had them all pack with clothes for appearances sake onto a trolley and pushing it towards a row of signs bearing numbers and letters.

"Alright," Harry said as they came to a stop by several rows of uncomfortable looking chairs in front of massive floor-to-ceiling windows. "Our flight should be leaving fairly soon."

"Woah," Bella gasped, staring slack-jawed out the window. "We're going in one of those?"

"That's right," Harry replied. Daphne turned to see what they were looking at and watched in amazement as the giant metal tube with wings sticking out of its sides rolled across the ground.

"Muggles _fly_ in those?" She asked incredulously.

"And there's _no_ magic involved?" McGonagall added.

"Muggles have been able to fly without magic for almost a hundred years," Harry answered quietly. "Now please stop looking so unconvinced before we start drawing attention to ourselves."

Daphne pouted and took a seat next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder as he leaned back and casually let his gaze roam across the crowded area. It only took about half an hour of waiting before they were being herded down a long tunnel with several other passengers and stepping through a large door onto the metal tube, which Daphne was happy to see had rows of seats organised neatly, with letters and numbers corresponding to the ones on the tickets Harry was holding.

Harry led them to a group of four seats in the middle of the tube and easily hoisted their things into the compartment above them, shoving his own backpack under the seat closer to the aisle while Daphne took the one next to the window, behind Bella. Looking out the small, square panel of glass, Daphne watched in amazement as flaps along the back of the giant, metal fin sticking out the side of the machine wiggled up and down before the asphalt below her started to move.

"So, what do you think?" Harry asked in amusement as she watched them continue to speed up before finally taking off, quickly flying higher than she could have imagined. Looking out over the dwindling landscape beneath her, Daphne smiled before widening her eyes as she felt a sudden pressure on her ears.

"It's alright," Harry said, though he, too looked rather uncomfortable. "The feeling will pass."

"As impressive as this is," McGonagall groaned, holding the armrest of her seat in a white-knuckled death grip. "I think I'd rather stick to more… conventional methods of travel."

Daphne laughed and leaned back against Harry as he finally allowed himself to relax. She could feel his heartbeat against her cheek and smiled when he reached inside his bag and handed her a bottle filled with blood from a pig they had hunted the night before while another containing more Polyjuice potion was handed forward to Bella. Sipping on her drink, she watched as he pulled out a book filled with complex looking equations alongside his own notebook and started reading, jotting down the occasional note, or underlining parts he felt were important. After about three hours of flying, a neatly-dressed woman approached their seats and offered them menus containing various foods.

"So, what exactly is our plan once we arrive in Canada?" She asked as Harry switched the books he was working on, pulling out another on various prominent giants throughout history.

"As soon as we're within the North American magical border, we can use Rosie to transport us to Kanen," he replied quietly. "He should be able to help us track down this giant the Oracle mentioned."

"Don't forget that we are going to need to make several preparations if what she said about our magic not working is true," McGonagall added.

"We'll need supplies," Daphne said, nodding in agreement. She paused as the woman returned with a trolley containing their meals. Harry thanked her smoothly, and they waited until she was farther down the aisle to return to the subject at hand.

"We should probably figure out what magic will and won't work there once we find it," Bella suggested as she dug into her macaroni and cheese before taking a swig of her potion and shaking her head in distaste. "Morgana's bloomers, the girl you got this stuff from must be a right harpy." They had taken the hair from an unsuspecting girl in the streets of Paris who bore a passing resemblance to Bella, as she, Daphne, and McGonagall were flying under the pretense of being Harry's younger sister, wife, and grandmother respectively Harry didn't want to risk the ambient magic of a glamour charm being detected in the airport, or messing with the instruments of the machine currently keeping them aloft thousands of feet in the air.

"Bella has a point," Daphne agreed. "The Oracle was rather vague when warning you about your magic being hindered wherever it is we've been called. Not to mention the part about Harry being pushed beyond his limits."

"Considering what we've witness you handle so far," McGonagall said solemnly. "I shudder to think what awaits us."

"We'll be fine so long as we stick together," Harry reassured them.

The four of them fell into a heavy silence after that, not wanting to dwell on what could possibly be waiting for them in the near future. Eventually, Daphne felt herself nod off only to awaken feeling completely unrested, stiff, and desperately wishing for some fresh air and a shower as a man's voice announced overhead that they were making their final descent into the Calgary International Airport. Harry smiled comfortingly, kissing her on her temple as she took a long drink of her blood before reaching down into his bag to once more pull out four small vials of the potion to help with adjusting to the new time zone.

She didn't have to be able to feel his emotions to know that he was itching to get out of the confine place and into the open as he practically barreled his way through the slow-moving crowd disembarking the aircraft. Grabbing his hand and giving it a soft squeeze, Daphne returned the comfort he had given her as they left their bags behind, and looked around for a discreet place for Rosie to rise out of her shadow and transport them. Eventually, they settled on using the bathrooms, with Rosie simply making a short hop from the women's to the men's to pick him up before transporting them to Kanen's store.

"You know," the man grunted as he walked out of his workshop. "You'd think I'd at least see an increase in business having the famous Harry Potter as a regular visitor to my shop."

"You hate customers," Harry countered with a smirk.

"Then why do you keep showing up?"

"Because you're a friend."

Kanen turned around and smirked, pulling Harry into a tight embrace. "Tell anyone that and I'll deny it with my dying breath." Turning to Daphne, Kanen's smiled softly, and she allowed him to wrap his thick arms around her shoulders, a hand gnarled by time moving through her short hair. "Heard about what happened with your mom and that man she married," he murmured. "Always knew you were tougher than that kitten the thunder-chicken chose to accompany."

Daphne buried her face in Kanen's shoulder and returned the hug, smiling when he grunted exaggeratingly as she tightened her grip and her newly-acquired increase in strength squeezed his ribs.

"Thank you, Kanen, for taking us in on such short notice," McGonagall said as they broke apart.

Kanen shrugged and turned towards the door to his workshop. "Was getting' bored with things anyway. Now, you two," he pointed at both Daphne and Bella, startling them slightly, "follow me. If you're gonna be keeping the meathead over there alive on this little quest of his, you need a couple of wands."

 **A/N: Once again, pretty short, pretty anticlimactic chapter, but now that I've managed to isolate the four of them, we can actually get the ball rolling. I'm sorry that the updates have been so slow, but I've been bogged down by real life, and working on making** ** _The First Spark_** **\- my original piece on Wattpad - as good as I can. In fact, if some of you want to go read it and tell me what you think, I'd really appreciate it! (#ShamelessPlug) I think if you do, you might even see a familiar character among the main cast.**


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